What I Did For Love
by ElectraE
Summary: When C.C. finds herself in a life threatening situation, guess who will put his own life literally on the line to save her?... yup, exactly. CC/Niles
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**What I Did For Love**

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~**~o0o~~**

Niles felt a smooth, worm hand tracing circles on his cheek while a sweet voice echoed inside the endless darkness calling desperately his name and willing him to open his eyes. In the background he could hear an odd mixture of noises and voices that slowly became louder and louder as his mind began to slowly drifting toward consciousness. Somehow he managed to distinguish two voices, one male, one female, they seemed to saying something, but his brain was very tired to registering what it was clearly, something about 911 and an ambulance. Soon his mind focused again on the person to whom the soft hand belonged. Although he couldn't hear the person's voice clearly, yet, there was something familiar in the way the hand touching his cheek, something so oddly familiar that Niles could have sworn he had experienced that same tough before. With a great effort, slowly he forced his eyes open, but the person must have noticed because the movement of his or her hand suddenly stopped. His vision was blurred so he blinked a couple of times to get his eyes to adjust faster. Once his vision cleared a little he found himself staring up into the most beautiful set of ocean blue eyes he had ever seen, slightly covered by short hanging strand of blond hair that had fallen into her face.

"Miss Babcock?" He croaked out with disbelieve once he found his voice. He tried to push himself up into a sitting position, but a sharp pain shot through his chest restricted his movement. He cried out in pain and fell back onto the ground, clutching his chest in agony.

"Hush, don't try to move." C.C. whispered gently. Her eyes were filled with pain and fear mirroring his own eyes.

There was blood all over the ground, all around him. His vision was still a little blurred and he couldn't clearly see it, but he knew it was there. He could smell it. He could feel it.

C.C. looked at Nile's wound with worry. She had never seen so much blood coming out of such a small wound in her life. She knew that she had to stop the bleeding somehow and fast. She quickly looked around trying to find something to put pressure on Niles's wound with, but she found nothing, so not knowing what else to do she pressed her hands down at the wound as hard as she could, hoping it would be enough to stop the bleeding. She had seen this in the movies. It always worked in them.

"It hurts…" Niles complained clenching his teeth in order to keep himself in check.

"I know it hurts, but the paramedics will be here soon and then you'll be fine, alright?" She replied firmly, but she wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to herself.

He shook his head in agreement, but deep inside him he knew that was probably already too late then closed his eyes for a moment trying to hold back his tears, but it became harder to do as his mind flashed back to the previous events.

"He did it, didn't he?" He whispered as the realization hit him.

C.C. didn't reply, just nodded her head in silent confirmation. Her arms were shaking and she wasn't sure if it was from the pressure she was putting on his wound or from the fear that she was going to lose him, but she was sure of one thing, for the first time in her life she was scared, really scared. She swallowed hard, her throat was painfully dry."You shouldn't have done what you did. Not for me." C.C. said her voice shaking slightly.

Niles' soft blue eyes locked into C.C's dark blue ones. "I couldn't let anything happen to you!" He admitted.

"It's all my fault, my fault." She repeated over and over again as a wave of guilt washed over her.

Niles didn't even need to think before speaking. "Miss Babcock, please stop. It's not your fault. It was never in your hand or control. If anything this is my fault, my choice not yours…and I can assure you that if I had to do it all over again…I wouldn't have done anything different at all." He whispered and then stopped as a fresh wave of pain washed over him. The pain in his chest was unbearable and he felt like his lungs were on fire. He coughed several times, having trouble getting some air into his lungs.

The sight was unbearably painful, C.C. felt her own eyes moisten but she didn't cry, she refused to do that, because crying would make it all real, crying would be the same as admitting to him and herself that he was dying. She closed her blue eyes for a moment and wished with all her heart to hear him laugh and tell her that it was all another of his nasty pranks and everything was okay. Her eyes suddenly snapped open when Niles raised his hand and gently cupped her face. He slowly brought it closer to his face before he pressed a soft kiss on her lips. In the past, he wouldn't have dared to do something so bold, well at least no sober, but this time somehow it felt right. Deep down he expected her to draw back, but to his surprise she didn't, instead she kissed him back.

"C.C., I know how you feel about Maxwell and I don't expect you to say it back…but I want you to know that I…" Niles started to say, when they finally break apart, but she stopped him placing her finger against his lips. She knew what he was about to say and she couldn't let him say it. Not now, not like that.

"Later." She whispered. His eyes had a hint of disappointment, and C.C. knew that wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"We don't have later C.C…it's now or never." Deep down he knew he was probably going to die and yet he wasn't so much afraid of death, everybody dies after all, as he was afraid of not saying to her about his feeling.

Suddenly his eyes started to feel heavy and he struggled to keep them open.

She put her soaked in his blood hand over his and squeezed it slightly. "Niles?"

With much effort, he opened her eyes again but only for a moment, he couldn't keep them open for long. "Hmm?"

Without really thinking, C.C. found herself asking, "You're going to stay with me, right?" Her voice was soft, yet mixed with concern and fear.

"I'll try," He whispered, weakly, but he knew that he didn't sound all that convincing. "No!" She exclaimed, practically shouting the word. "Promise me that you will stay with me." A single tear ran down her cheek and into his pale face. "Promise me, Niles."

Niles laced his fingers with hers, and with what little strength he had, squeezed her hand back. "I promise you that I will try."

****** Flashback ******

"Goodnight, Maxwell, I'll see you tomorrow," C.C. yelled, walking out of the mansion.

"Goodnight C.C., drive safely." Maxwell yelled back. He couldn't have C.C. and Niles working in the same room when they couldn't even get along for two minutes without fighting with each other. So, he had sent her home for the day.

C.C. gently wrapped her arms around herself trying to stay warm, but nothing seemed to take away the chill. Winter had started for good and the temperature was incredibly low. Shivering she pulled her coat tightly around her body and began to walk faster toward the parking lot. She'd had a particularly stressful day and now all she wanted to do was get home, have a nice hot, bubble bath and then go to bed.

Just before she reached her car she scrambled though her purse and found her car keys. She pulled out the keys and inserted the car key into the lock to unlock her door, but just before she heard the confirmatory click they fell to the ground. "Shit!" She cursed out loud as she bent to the ground to retrieve the keys she had dropped. A dark figure to her left caught her eye and her hand jerked causing her keys to fall in the ground again with a loud clink. She quickly turned around, but no one was there. She shook her head, and let out a small laugh. Oh you really get paranoid. She thought to herself. She bended down for second time and pick them up again. She had no time to react when she felt a hand grab her arm and spin her around roughly. Her blue eyes widened, she wasn't prepared for this.

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**A/N:** _P__lease review__ and __let me know if__ I __should continue__ this __story or not. __Thanks:)_

_**To be continued?**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._ **A/N:** _Hello, hello! Thank you very much to all the people who reviewed to encourage me to continue the story. So here's the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it :)_

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter two**

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~**~o0o~~**

C.C. starred in horror at the male figure in front of her. The figure was wearing a long black coat, black trousers and boots. "Give me your purse and all your valuables and I might let you live." He warned her through gritted teeth.

The man was tall and obvious much stronger than C.C. but she knew she had to do or at least, attempt to do, something/anything to protect herself from him. "Go to hell!" C.C. screamed, lifting up her knee and kicking him in his crotch as hard as she could.

As she expected, he let her arm and fell to the ground, holding his injured area. "You bitch!" The man cried out in pain. She tried to run away of him, but before she even moved half an inch, he reached out and roughly grabbed C.C.'s hand. This time his grip was very tight, and C.C. knew she would have bruises tomorrow. Well, if she will still be alive tomorrow.

"Get away from me." C.C. yelled, hoping that someone would hear her and come to her rescue, only to find out that it was a very bad idea. Her attacker clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her screams and slammed her back against the driver side door; a cracking sound came from the metal door. She winced as she felt a sharp pain traveling down her spine.

"Scream again you little bitch and I swear I'll break your stupid back. Understood?" He whispered, leaning close enough for his breath to brush C.C.'s skin.

C.C. nodded her head rapidly to show her understanding.

"Good girl." He said as he raised his right hand to her cheek, brushing it gently with his fingertips.

She felt her body shaking slightly, from fear or range; she wasn't sure which. Either way she couldn't let it show, so she bit her bottom lip, willing her body to stop trembling.

He stayed silent for a moment, carefully studying her face. She felt the blood run cold in her veins, wondering what he was going to do.

"Your blue eyes!" He suddenly exclaimed, brushing a blonde strand of hair away from her eyes. C.C. immediately jerked her head to the side, away from his touch.

He chuckled and then continued. "They look familiar to me, somehow. Where have I seen you before?"

Her breath hitched in her throat. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said then tried to take a step back, but she couldn't. Directly behind her was her car's door, so when she tried she felt her back making contact with the cold metal. She was trapped.

After a few moments of thought, he exclaimed, "oh, yes, I know. I've seen you on a magazine cover, holding a small dog. I can't believe what a lucky bastard I am. You're C.C. Babcock, aren't you?"

C.C. shook her head forcefully. "You are making a huge mistake." She paused to swallow hard. "We…we… look exactly alike and people often mistake me for her...here, just…just take my purse and leave me alone." She said handing her purse to the man. Her voice was strained, desperate almost.

"I don't give a damn about your purse." He yelled, throwing C.C.'s purse into the ground. His hazel eyes lit up and a sick almost twisted smirk spread across his face as an idea formed into his head. "I have 'bigger plans'."

"What do you mean 'bigger plans'?" She asked forcing herself to keep her voice from shaking.

He let out a devilish laugh, a laugh that made all the hairs on C.C.'s neck stand up. "Don't worry Miss Babcock, you will learn soon."

Before C.C. could open her mouth to protest a piece of black fabric was placed over her mouth and nose. Her whole body tensed as she instantly recognized the strong smell of chloroform. She immediately held her breath in a desperate attempt to not inhale the anesthetic and fought to pull the piece of fabric away from her face, but of course, it didn't work, his hold was too strong. Soon a wave of dizziness overtook her and she fell hard on the ground with a loud thump. The last thing C.C. felt before she lost consciousness was two large hands lifting her from the ground, opening her car's door and dropping her into the back seat.

**~~o0o~~**

_**The next morning, around 9 a.m., inside Maxwell's living room…**_

"Have you heard from C.C. today?" Maxwell asked Niles, holding his cell phone on his hand. "She is half an hour late and she is never ever late to work without calling."

"No, I haven't. Have you tried calling her cell phone, Sir?" Niles asked.

"I called her three times, but every time went straight to her voicemail. I'm starting to get really worried." Maxwell said placing his phone down on the coffee table.

"Oh, don't worry, Sir. I'm sure she's fine." Niles replied, trying to sound indifferent, but in his heart he was even more worried that Maxwell was.

Maxwell let out a sigh. "You're probably right. Just let me know if she shows up." He said as he began walking towards his office.

"Certainly sir," Niles replied calmly as he continued dusting the candlesticks with his feather duster, acting like nothing had happened.

When Maxwell left the room, Niles dropped careless his feather duster on the coffee table and sat on the couch. Despite what he had said to Maxwell a few minutes ago he knew he was right. In her twenty years of working for Maxwell, she had never been late without calling. Not once. It was obvious to him that something was wrong with her. Something was very wrong. Suddenly a thousand different "What If" scenarios started to play in his head and each one was worse than the last, but his painful thoughts interrupted mercifully by Maxwell's ringing cell phone that he had accidentally forgotten on the coffee table a few minutes ago.

Niles lifted his head up and mouthed a silent "thank you" to the heavens then picked up the phone and looked at the flashing screen. The caller ID said "C.C." Niles smiled as he felt his racing heart rate slowly return to normal. C.C., his C.C. was fine and he'd drive himself almost crazy with worry for nothing. "Oh Niles old man, sometimes you can be so silly!" He told to himself.

He grabbed the phone and walked towards the office to give it to Maxwell, but just before he pushed open the double-doors he thought that, it was such a great opportunity for him to tease C.C. a little for being late and he couldn't just let the opportunity pass him by.

With that thought in his mind he pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear. "Oh let me guess…someone leave a big rock on your coffin again?" Niles said with a cheerful voice then he paused waiting for a zinger, but the zinger never come instead he heard an unknown male voice saying to him, "Hmm, I must say that was a very interesting choice of words and very fitting, because the next time you see her, she will probably be in a coffin."

His breath hitched in her throat."Who is this?" He asked clutching the phone with both hands. "If this is some kind of sick prank, it's not funny at all!"

"I'm the man who staring at your tied to a chair business partner_, _wondering how much you want to see her alive. The man replied on the other end of the line.

Niles stayed silent for a moment, trying to process what he had just said to him. He staring at …my…my tied business partner? What did he mean by that? He opened his mouth to ask him, but snapped his mouth shut again as the realization hit him a second later. Oh my god, C.C. is kidnapped by this man and he thinks that I am Maxwell. He took a deep breath as he desperately tried to regain a sense of calm so that he could think this through rationally. Giving Maxwell the phone could get C.C. killed because Maxwell was always an impulsive type of man so he will surely call the police. But what if the man was bluffing or what if he was going to kill her anyway? God, he really didn't know what was the best course of action for him to take at the moment. So he decided to take things as they came and to pretend that he was Maxwell, at least for now.

"If you tell me the truth, then let me talk to my business partner to make sure she is alive." He said softly, trying hard to keep his growing anger in check. As much as he wanted to kill this man with his bare hands, he knew he needed to remain calm for C.C's sake.

"Fair enough." The man said then walked over to C.C. and grabbed her by the hair. "Listen to me, blonde, I am going to remove the gag from your mouth, so you can say hi to your boyfriend, now if you know what is good for you, you better stay still and don't even think about bite me."

Shaking her head a little, C.C. made a muffled noise in response. "Good." He said removing her gag so she could talk.

"Maxwell!" C.C. yelled once her mouth was free from the gag. Niles let out the breath he had been holding as he waited for her to talk to him, but he didn't reply, he knew he couldn't reply without running the risk of exposing his true identity to her and maybe to her abductor, putting her life in more danger than already was.

"Okay, that's enough" The kidnapper interrupted and quickly shoved the gag back into C.C.'s mouth."As you heard she's alive and unharmed…for now. The question is how much you want her to stay that way."

"Please let her go. I'll do anything you want." Niles yelled. His heart beat had increased so significantly, he was so sure he was going to pass out or have a heart attack at any minute.

"Good, so let make a deal, you're going to do exactly what I say and in exchange I will keep her alive."

"How much money do you want?" Niles asked slightly afraid of what the answer would be. It doesn't matter, he told himself, attempting to calm himself down. Whatever it is, I will find a way to pay him. I will borrow some money and I will even sell everything I own if I have to but I will save her. He thought.

Niles heard him chuckle on the other end of the line. "I don't care about your money. What I want can give me more money than you already have or you could make in a lifetime as a Broadway producer."

Gosh, what I'm going to do? Niles though then gathered all his courage and somehow managed to say. "Name it."

"I want the page."

"What page?" Niles asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"I heard that you intending on loaning an original page of Shakespeare's notebook to the Metropolitan museum for a sold out benefit. Bring me the page and then you can have your friend back in one piece. Understood?"

Niles gripped the phone so tightly he thought he might break it, but that didn't stop him from continuing to do so. "Yes," He answered through gritted teeth.

"Good. Now I'm sure I don't need to tell you that it'll be our little secret. Because I swear if you tell anyone about this or call the cops, she will die. This time tomorrow I'll call you and tell you where to bring the page. Have a nice day, Maxwell." He said and with that the line went dead.

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_**To be continued…**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._ **A/N**_**:**__ Hello, hello everyone! Thank you so much to those who read/reviewed chapter two and added my story to their favorite/alert stories list. Here is chapter three so enjoy and if you have the time leave a comment, because reviews are the only way for me to know if you still like my story or not.:)_

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter three**

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**~~o0o~~**

C.C. groaned as she slowly forced her heavy eyelids open. At some point, she must have fallen asleep or passed out from exhaustion. She blinked a few times, trying to focus her foggy brain, but she had no clue how long she had been asleep or where she was. Groaned again she twisted her head a little, trying to look around the room that she was in. To her relief she was alone, her abductor was nowhere to be seen. There were no windows on the walls, so it was obvious to her that it was something like a basement or a cell, but the room wasn't completely dark, there was a dim light coming from a small lamp on the opposite side of the room.

All her muscles were sore from sleeping in one awkward position for so long. So she tried to shift a little and stretched her arms above her head, only to found out that wasn't able to do so because her wrists was still tied together in a tight, uncomfortable way behind the back of the wooden chair. She could feel the rough rope digging into her skin, sending shots of pain through her arms every time she went to move her wrists.

She hated the feeling of helplessness. There was nothing that C.C. hated more than feeling helpless. She took a sharp breath and started to struggle against the rope, paying no attention to the pain or the damage the tight rope would cause to her soft delicate skin, hoping she will loosen the rope enough to pull her hands free just by twisting her wrists against the rope that bound her. After several moments of struggling and moaning in pain, she came to the realization that it was no use; the rope was just too tight.

C.C. bit her tongue begging herself not to cry. Please, please, don't …you are stronger than this. She mumbled to herself -or tried to, anyway- her throat was horribly dry and felt like it was on fire.

You can try to convince yourself as much as you want, but you can't avoid the truth, chicken**.** A small voice whispered inside her mind.

Geez, C.C., you miss Niles so much that you insulting even your own herself now? She told to herself hoarsely and shut her eyes. The image of one particular blue-eyed pain-in-the-ass flashed in her mind as a part of her wished desperately to hear his voice mocking her, as if that could somehow calm her down. Instantly shook her head vigorously, desperately trying to get rid of Niles's image. No, you don't miss him... you don't want to miss him… you can't miss him…can you? Even thought she would never admit it out loud, deep in her heart, she already knew the answer.

He doesn't miss you, so why should you miss him? It didn't make sense. Oh, why were feelings so complicated? Why mind can't simply over rule your heart as well as your body to stop miss him that badly?

C.C. felt a heaviness rising from her chest in her throat so she pushed the thoughts away and take a deep breath as if trying to calm himself, but her panic began to rise again when she heard somewhere behind her, the creak of metal on metal as a doorknob turn. Her eyes wide with fear as streams of light and the sound of heavy thuds filled the room.

**~~o0o~~**

_**Meanwhile, inside **__**Μ**__**axwell's residence…**_

After hours of tossing and turning in his bed Niles gave up on sleeping for tonight, he kept being woken from nightmares that were haunting him, which were all about C.C and someone or something harming her.

Sitting up in his bed he rubbed his head and looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was 2:00 am. Thinking to himself that the whole family had probably already fallen asleep, he decided that it was time to put his plan into action.

Getting out of bed he rubbed his forehead some more to will away some of the tension that was residing there and slowly made his way across the room and to his closet. He grabbed some black clothes and got dressed, hoping his dark clothes would blend well into the shadows of the dark corners of the house, helping him to stay unnoticed.

Cautiously Niles opened the door of his bedroom and peeked his head out the door; looking both ways into the dimly light hallway to make sure no one was there. When he determined it was empty he slowly stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

When he reached the second floor he noticed a line of light coming from under Maxwell's bedroom door. Thinking it was wiser and safer to check this out; Niles turned the knob and pushed the door open carefully to not make too much noise then threw a quick glance into Maxwell bedroom. He let out a breath he hadn't been aware that he was holding when he noticed Maxwell's figure lying motionless on the bed. Maxwell had obviously fallen asleep while reading because he was still wearing his glasses and a book was lying open on his chest. By the way his chest was moving with each breath he took Niles could tell he was already in a deep sleep. He smiled in satisfaction and urged himself to keep on going.

He reached the top of the stairs and carefully snuck down hoping to not wake anybody. The mansion was dark, the only source of light he had was from the full moon outside that shone through the cracks of the elegant curtains that hung over the windows. Even if the light wasn't much, it was enough for him. After so many years of cleaning around he knew the layout of this house like the back of his hand.

He followed the familiar path across the living room that he used to take every single day until he reached the office door. Once he did it he paused for a moment to catch his breath. He knew he had come too far to back off now; the problem was that he wasn't too sure that his knees wouldn't automatically give out beneath him if he attempted to take a step forward. He closed his eyes for a brief second and focused on his breathing, trying to calm himself down. You can do this, he repeatedly said over and over in his head. For C.C's sake you can do anything. So without further thought he slowly turned the knob and slipped inside.

When he reached the middle of the room quickly scanned around until he spotted the safe. He knew the password code by heart, because he had seen Maxwell typing it so many times over the years. Niles set his anxious fingers to the control panel and quickly typed the password code then he waited until he heard the unlock sound. When the safe finally opened he reached inside and pulled out the page then folded the page in half, careful not to tear it and shoved it in his pocket.

Suddenly the light turned on lighting the room followed by the sound of footsteps in the background, he didn't want to turn around, but what choice did he have? Slowly and with much hesitation he did it. What he saw made the color drain from his face in terror. "Oh, I'm screwed …I'm so screwed." He whispered.

_**To be continued…**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**_**:**__ All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended. _**A/N:** _Thank you_ _for spending the time to read and review. Here is chapter four so enjoy!_

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter four**

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**~~o0o~~**

**_Meanwhile, inside an abandoned house's basement... _**

…_Her eyes wide with fear as streams of light and the sound of heavy thuds filled the room…_

Goose bumps appeared on C.C's skin as the whole scene reminding her something out of a horror movie. She drew in a sharp breath and tried to turn her body towards the sound, but because of being tied up against the chair wasn't able to do so.

"Ah, so you're finally awake, good. I was beginning to worry that you were dead." She heard a male voice say to her, as the tall man she knew as her kidnapper walked inside the room and into her view carrying a tray with food.

Her mind was still fuzzy, but she recognized the voice immediately."You!" She hissed as she started to fight against the rope that held her in place once again. "Let me out of here right now or I swear to god I'll scream so loud that-" She began to say, but didn't get to finish because she was interrupted by a loud laughter.

Laughing the tall man walked towards to where she sat and placed the tray on the floor before he spoke. "Go ahead and scream as much as you like, darling, but I must warning you, you'll only hurt your throat because there's not a living soul around for miles."

"You son of a bitch!" C.C. spat at him with shiny eyes.

"Call me whatever you like, Blondie. It does not phase me."

"Sure it doesn't," She replied with sarcasm as she continued to fight against the rope that her kidnapper had bound her with, with all her might, but it was totally useless.

"Change your attitude, my little wildcat; I'm not here to hurt you…not yet anyway. I'm here to offer you something to eat." He said pointing at the tray. "I thought you might be hungry, since you haven't eaten a thing in almost twenty-four hours."

"I'm not hungry."She said trying to sound indifferent, but unsuccessful. Her stomach growled at the thought of food, betraying her.

"It seems that your stomach doesn't agree with your stubborn mouth." He pointed out with a small smile.

Shaking her head C.C. let out a small ironic laugh. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"I don't." He replied, taking a step closer to her. "But I promised to your rich friend that I will keep you alive and this is exactly what I'm planning to do as long as he cooperates, however I never said how, so we can either do this the easy way or the hard way, you choose."

She was silent for a minute as she considered her options, but she quickly realized that it was only one from the start. "Untie me" C.C. yelled, but when she saw his angry glare she rolled her eyes and added, "So I can eat, you morale."

"I knew you could be reasonable." He said with a satisfied smile as he reached behind C.C's back, untied the rope that holding her to the chair and threw it onto the floor."Here, but If you try anything funny, I'll make the rest of your stay here particularly unpleasant, you hear me." He warned her in a deadly serious tone.

C.C. didn't respond. There wasn't anything else she could say, so she just noted her head helplessly.

"So how are you feeling, darling?" The man asked once C.C.'s hands were finally released from the rope that bound them.

She wanted so badly to tell him- no, to shout at him, to go to hell, but she knew it wouldn't do her any good, so she decided to restrain herself and remain silence, well at least for now. She just turned her attention to her bruised wrists which felt like they were on fired while thousands of tiny needles stabbing into every inch of her skin over and over again. Not knowing what else to do she began rubbing them softly hoping this will lessen somehow her pain.

When he did not hear any reply he angrily squeezed her right wrist, making her flinch in pain as he yelled at her, "When I am talking to you, you will answer me, understood?"

Moaning, she turned her head to the side and shut her mouth, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in pain, which only made him squeeze her wrist much harder. "Answer me!" He demanded again.

She didn't believe she had to answer him, but she knew that she going to stir up more trouble if she didn't. Slowly she turned her head to face him, a small, forced and bitter smile formed on her lips. "Well, let's see. I've been kidnapped, drugged, gagged and taken here against my will." The volume of her voice raising with every word she uttered. "Oh and wait it gets better, my wrists are brushed and my entire body aching from being tied to a wooden chair in such unnatural position for so long. So, am I ok? I think I'll let you be the judge of that."

He didn't reply but she felt his grip loosen on her wrist and a few moments later his hand dropped, so she took it as a good sign.

"How long was I unconscious, anyway?" C.C. asked as she picked up the long forgotten plate from the tray and unwillingly started to eat.

"Five or six hours," He answered. "It's night now, so you better enjoy your dinner, dear, because it might be your last."

His last statement nearly made C.C. choke on her food. A knot formed in her stomach and she dropped the fork to the plate as her mind began to cloud with thoughts of Niles and Niles alone. Her thoughts frightened her yet again, she couldn't help it. Something was seriously happening in her mind and he couldn't figure out what. She squeezed her eyes shut immediately, wishing for nothing more than to see him one more time. "If I die then I will never hear the voice, the laugh or experience the sweet touch of my beautiful Ni-." The last sentence accidentally came out loud, but somehow managed to stop herself before Nile's name fully left her lips.

"Ni? Who is Ni?" The man asked curiously, folding his arms across his chest.

C.C.'s eyes were wide with terror. "No one." She replied quickly biting the inside of her cheek with all her might to prevent herself from saying more, desperately hoping he would drop the subject. She knew that she probably biting her cheek hard enough to cause it to bleed, but she didn't let that stop her.

A smirk appeared on his face as he noticed he'd hit a nerve so he decided to push her a little more just for fun. "If that's true then why did you get so upset in the first place? Hmm... maybe I should find him, so we can ask him."

As soon as she heard this, C.C. felt her blood begin to boil while her heart raced a mile a minute as her irritation ignited to a whole new level. She thought she hated him before, but now she definitely did. "You better stay away from him, because if you touch even a single strand of his hair, I swear I will kill you with my bare hands."

"Pretty big words from a person in your position, don't you think, Blondie?" His lips quirked in a smirk and C.C. couldn't help but despise him for it.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." C.C. stated, giving him the angriest glare she could muster, choosing to do that instead of smacking the smirk off his face which was what she really wanted to do.

Chuckling, he reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, but she immediately jerked away and stared him in his eyes with anger."You are so beautiful when you're angry, it will really be such a shame if I have to kill you."

"Listen to me you freak, you can think of me as your little personal entertainment center as much as you want, but if you ever and i mean ever touch me again, you will pay dearly for it!" She spat, her eyes shooting fires at him.

Her words only made his smirk to grow wider, but he dropped his hand anyway. "Oh goody, more empty threats." He replied sarcastically and then added, "Relax darling, tomorrow I will call your rich friend, Maxwell and if all goes as planned, you'll be back with your boyfriend Ni or whatever his name is in no time."

This triggered a small smile in C.C.'s lips, but a sad thought hit her hard almost instantly, making her smile disappear just as quickly as it came. "He is not my boyfriend; in fact he is not even a friend." She answered, hating how croaked and weak her voice sounded.

"Really? Because the look on your face and your strange reaction tells me otherwise." He seemed to be getting good at reading her and C.C. couldn't help but hope that he would not get too good at it, because if he did, he might find out a few things that she didn't want him or herself to know. She knew she had to find a way to get rid of him and fast, even if it was just temporary, so did the first and probably the only thing that came to her mind. "I'm done." She said placing the almost untouched plate back inside the tray.

"You've barely touched your plate, aren't you hungry?"The man asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, you ruined my appetite. Now leave me alone." C.C. yelled as loud as her voice would allow, and with that picked up the tray, stood up and threw it at the wall with full force, watching the plate shattering in pieces and the food splattering against the wall and onto the floor.

"Ts-ts-ts, I don't think that was very nice behavior, Miss Babcock…but that's okay because I'll make sure that you will learn some manners, before you stay here comes to an end." He shouted at her, walking out of the room and locking the door behind him, leaving her alone.

Feeling the tears begin to pool in the corners of her eyes C.C. lowered herself down to the hard wooden floor and curled up into a fetal position like a small, lost little girl with one thought repeating itself over and over again inside her mind like a broken record: Maxwell will save me…right?

**A/N:** _For those who wondering what happened to Niles, well I'm sorry guys, but you have to wait for the next chapter to find out…why? because I'm baaaaad lol. No, not really, I just have a very busy schedule and very little free time to write but don't worry I will try to update as soon as I can. So please be goooood and if you have a little time review, thanks :)_

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_**To be continued…**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**_**:**__All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._**A/N:** _Thank you all very much for the reviews…etc of the previous chapter. I really appreciate them :) Here is chapter five so enjoy and if you have same time please leave a comment/review. Thanks :)_

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter five**

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**~~o0o~~**

_**Meanwhile, inside Maxwell's office…**_

The color drain from Niles face in terror as he slowly turned around and found Miss Fine, the queen yenta herself, standing right in front of him. "Oh, I'm screwed …I'm so screwed." Niles hissed under his breath as he stood in front of the open safe in a desperate attempt to block it from Fran's view with his body, praying that she hadn't gotten close enough to notice it.

"Niles? Is that you?" Fran asked with her nasal voice, blinking a few times, trying to clear the remaining sleep out of her eyes.

Niles opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but nothing came out of it maybe because he didn't know what the hell he was going to say to Fran, or worst, what Fran was going to say to him.

Fran's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "I can't believe this! Maxwell had always considered you a member of the family and this is how you repay him? Shame on you!" Fran said in a highly disappointed tone putting her hands on her hips for emphasis.

Niles lowered his eyes to the floor as waves of shame and guilt washed over him. He could feel his legs starting to go numb and he grasped at the nearby object for support. He had never wanted the ground beneath his feet to open up and swallow him whole as much as he did in that moment. He knew that what he had done, it was dreadfully wrong and low. But he had done it for C.C. which admittedly it was a good excuse, but an excuse none the less, in other eyes. In his eyes it was more than an excuse, it was the reason… she was 'the reason', she always had been.

"Oh please Miss Fine, don't tell Maxwell! Just…just give me a minute and I'll explain to you everything, I promise." Niles managed to blurt out after many awkward minutes standing there in complete silence. Hoping like hell that she will give him a chance to explain himself. Inside his chest he could feel his heart pounding so frantically that he was sure it was going to explode at any second.

"Oh chill out, Niles. I'm only messing with you." Fran said waving her left hand at him while a smile spread across her lips. "We all know that you like to sneak into his office, to smoke his cigars and drink his brandy when he is not around. By the way, awful choice of clothes." She said pointing with her thumb at his black clothes.

Niles heard her talking, but he paid absolutely no attention to what she was saying. He was too busy trying to find a way to explain the situation to her. "Wh-What?" He asked when his mind finally processed Fran's words while he quickly shifted his gaze at her, only to find out that she was still eyeing him up and down with a very strange look on her face.

"Black is over, this year gray is the story." Fran replied, giving Niles a "duh" look, but when she saw the empty look in his eyes, she let out a small sigh of disappointment. "Oy, we should make a small talk about fashion and style tomorrow."

Thank God! Niles thought to himself as he let out a sigh of relief pleased that his secret was still safe. He could hardly believe his luck."Miss Fine, what are you doing up so late?" He found the courage to ask her when his heart rate returned to more normal levels.

"Well," She said and then began to speak so quickly that Niles had a hard time keeping up. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go into the kitchen for a late night snack. I was on my way back to my room, when I heard small noises coming from inside the office so I decided to follow the noises until I found the source of them. At first I thought it was Mr Sheffield, searching for something he lost again, you know he had been complaining to me all day long about losing various things: a folder, some contracts, his glasses, his cell phone… speaking of which, have you seen his cell phone?"

Niles blinked a few times giving his brain the time to process her words, once it did he swallowed the lump in his throat, choosing his next words carefully. "No, but you know Mister Sheffield, he puts his stuff in random places inside the house without paying attention all the time, and then when he need them he can't find them even if they are right under his nose. Do you remember that time when he was looking around the house for his keys for over an hour, not noticing he was holding them in his left hand the whole time?"

"How can I forget? I used to tease him about it for a long time." Fran answered and bit her lip to control the urge to laugh as the whole scene quickly replayed inside her mind. "Anyway, you are right Niles, but I can't stand him anymore… I hope Miss Babcock comes back soon."

Niles raised his eyes to the sky and repeated Fran's last line over and over in his head like a silent prayer to the Heavens, hoping that someone up there will hear him.

Fran didn't say anything for a few moments, her eyebrows narrowed like she was trying to recall something. "Niles, remind me again, why she had to leave for Los Angeles so fast?"

He took a deep breath and started saying the same lie he had told Maxwell earlier today in an attempt to explain C.C.'s sudden disappearance without drawing suspicion that something was not right…or at least he hoped so. "Her cousin G.G. needs a transfusion as soon as possible, and Miss Babcock's blood type is the only that matches hers."

"Oh I see, did she mention anything to you, when she called you earlier today, about when she'll be back?"

"No," He said, slowly shaking his head. He hated that he had to keep hiding the truth from Fran using more and more lies, but then again what choice did he have?

"I can make tea, if you want some, it always helps…" Fran started to say a few moments later, taking a few steps closer to him but paused when she noticed that he looked impossibly exhausted "…with insomnia, you know." She managed to finish a few seconds later.

"Oh yes, that will be great," Niles replied instantly thinking it as a great opportunity to get her out of the room. He had barely taken half a step towards the door when he realized that the safe was still wide open behind him. His mind was racing, trying desperately to think fast. "You know what?" He started to say hurriedly while rubbing his forehead in complete frustration at the whole situation. "Go into the kitchen and I will be right there in a sec, I…I need to take care of something first."

Nanny Fine, frowned slightly at her friends odd behavior, but she shrugged it off, and just nodded her head in agreement.

**~~o0o~~**

A few minutes later inside the kitchen, Fran poured two cups of the mango smelling tea which was Niles favored flavor of tea and left the tea pot on the hot stove to keep it warm.

"Here. Careful, it's hot." She said, hanging one cup to Niles and putting the other down on the small table in front of her. Niles nodded his head in a silent "thanks" as he accepted the porcelain cup.

They sat in silence for a while; the only sound in the room was the occasional sip of the hot liquid and the rhythmic ticking of the clock hanging on the wall. Tick, tock… Tick, tock… Tick, tock… Tick, tock…

Fran couldn't stand the silence they were trapped in any longer, she had to do something and soon or she would literally go insane. She turned her head slightly and looked at him, Niles sat with his two hands around the tea cup, staring blankly into the hot, amber colored liquid within, deep in thoughts. Her friend's eyes had lost the usual shining bright blue color that they were. They had turned a much darker, sad, foggy blue and that concerned her. Admittedly, Niles wasn't the most cheerful kind of person she knew, but she had never seen him so sad and lost in his thoughts…well never until now.

"Niles" Fran began, hoping that he would talk to her now instead of continuing to ignore her like he had been doing ever since they had stepped inside the kitchen.

Niles snapped out from his thoughts, his eyes flashing with obvious annoyance. "Huh?"

Fran leaned over the table to get a bit closer to him. "What's going on?" She asked, going straight to the point.

Niles instantly raised his gaze to her, he could feel his body already tensing up. Fran's hazel eyes were full of concern when they met his, it was obvious that she was trying to figure out what was the matter with him.

"Nothing's going on, everything is fine." He tried to reassure her -even if everything was so very far from 'fine'-, forcing himself to sound as nonchalant and unaffected as possible by her question, but he betrayed himself when unconsciously took a larger gulp of his hot, steamy tea and winced as he felt the hot liquor burning the back of his throat. A small act of nervousness that of course did not go unnoticed by Fran.

"I doubt that," She said as she took a small sip from her own cup of tea before she gently placed it back down on the table. "You've been acting weird all day and you can deny it all you want, but I know you, I know your problem."

"Miss Fine, I told you…" Niles started to say once again, but stopped himself as soon as he heard Fran's next words.

"It's about Miss Babcock isn't it?"

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_**To be continued…**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**_**: **__All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended. _**A/N:** _T__hank you_ _to those who take the time_ _to review my story. I really appreciate your __reviews__ :) Here is chapter six so enjoy and if you have same time please leave a comment. Thanks :)_

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter six**

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**~~o0o~~**

Damn it, Miss Fine obvious suspecting that something isn't right; otherwise she wouldn't have asked me about Miss Babcock, would she? Niles thought to himself then turned his gaze away, not wanting Nanny Fine to see how affected he was by her question, but it seemed to be a too late.

Bingo! Fran thought to herself as she heard Niles sigh heavily. For a second, there was an awkward silence in the air once again. "Well?" Fran pressed as she watched Niles shifting uncomfortable in his seat while looking at everything in the room except her."You goanna tell me what happened?"

Niles closed his eyes for a brief second and exhaled, trying to compose himself as his brain was searching for same kind of excuse that he could potentially use to lead his friend as far as possible from the truth and straight into the dark, an excuse that was also a reasonable and believable explanation for his behavior. When his brain finally came up with something he took a deep breath and started to speak, hoping Fran would buy what he was saying to her. He didn't have the chance to work it properly in his head but even if she wouldn't believe it, it was worth a shot, besides, he didn't have any other alternative idea.

"We… had a fight, that's all." Niles said in the most casual tone he could manage, wishing with all his might that Nanny Fine would accept his answer and just drop it. Of course, after so many years he should have known better.

"Just a fight? Niles I know you two fight sometimes…no, no let me amend that, you two fight most of the times, but you have never been ' upset ' about it in such a way." Fran was sure that Niles was trying to hide something and she desperately wanted to find out what it was.

Good god that woman. Why she could never drop anything? Niles thought to himself. "I told you, we had a fight, it's not a big deal, besides I don't see how it's any of your business." Niles snapped out coldly, hoping that Fran would just stop with all her questions. Of course he didn't meant to sound so cold, he knew that she was just worried about him, but he really wasn't in the mood to deal with Nanny Fine and her questions, not right now and more than anything, not while C.C.'s life was still on the line. All he really wanted was some time alone, to think. He took a deep breath and looked at Fran, he wasn't one hundred percent certain if he indeed had said that out loud, but judging by the look on Fran's face he had.

Fran was almost startled by the sudden change at his tone. Niles had never spoken at her with such a cold tone before. Now she knew for sure that something was up, in fact she had an idea about it and wanted him to just tell her, or rather confirm it for her, but if he didn't want to discuss it with her then she knew that she needed to respect his privacy and not dwell on the subject if it made him feel uncomfortable. Although unfortunately for Niles her yenta nature that was beyond her power to ignore made her continue, "Are you still going to keep it a secret from me?" Fran exclaimed, eyeing the skeptical look on his face.

Secret? Oh God, She knows! Niles thought panicly, but the reasonable part of her mind instantly disregarded that thought …no, obviously he was making a big mistake, it was impossible for Fran to know, because if she indeed knew something, she would have told about it at Maxwell already, right? Still he wasn't sure what the hell was going on, so he decided to play it safe. "Miss Fine…Fran, I- I- don't know wh- what you're talking about." Niles said trying to cover up the nervousness in his tone.

Fortunately or… unfortunately for him, Fran noticed his nervousness and decided to put him out of his misery by making things easier for him or at least that was what she though. "For how long are you planning to keep secret from me that you miss, Miss Babcook?" She asked arching her eyebrow questioningly.

"Oh that. Thank god!" Niles whispered, breathing a deep sigh of relief as he realized that she didn't know anything about the whole situation with C.C.

"Why? Is there something else I don't know about?" Fran asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Hmm…no." Niles replied quickly, hoping that his face wasn't giving away too much. Then picked up his cup and drunk the rest of the tea that was in it, even though he wasn't thirsty at all, he thought that it was safer to occupy himself with something or who knows what might slip out of his mouth.

But his relief didn't last for long as his brain quickly realized that he still needed to answer Fran's question even if he knew that this was one topic of conversation that he really didn't want to discuss not now nor never as a matter of fact. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, because if there was anyone he could be truthful with about his feelings for Miss Babcock, it was his best friend, Fran. The problem was that he didn't quite know how to explain something like that to her. How the hell could he explain his confused feeling, when he didn't even understand them himself? The thought made his heart rate increase in pace once again.

Niles opened his eyes and looked right at Fran's eyes, his expression softened immediately. "Miss Fine, I-" He started protesting, but stopped when Fran raised an eye brow in response.

Niles sighed, considering his options, but he knew what Fran was like, she never stops until she gets what she wants, so without farther thought he decided to let down his walls a little.

"Okay, fine, I admit, I miss her." He said after a good five or so minutes of silence, rather pleased that at least this time he wasn't lying to Fran because he indeed missed C.C., among other things.

"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" Fran exclaimed with a triumphant smile on her face for being right. "My best friend is in love…oh… I'm so happy for you Niles."

"What?" Niles exclaimed incredibly surprised at how Fran had suddenly come to that conclusion while looked at her as if she had just spouted a second head. Fran couldn't help, but laugh at the shocked look on his face because it really was hilarious.

Admitting to Fran that he missed C.C. was one thing, but that he was in love with her was a completely different story. So he put his walls up again. "Miss Fine, I think you misunderstood me, I do not..." Niles started to say, but was instantly cut off from speaking any further.

"No, no, don't even try to deny it, Mister." Fran said, shaking her head rapidly. She finally had started to feel like she was making some kind of progress with him and she couldn't let him go back to square one again.

Despite that he had indeed tried to deny it, Niles knew that Fran was right. It was pointless to deny how he felt towards C.C anymore. For years he had been putting his best fake smile at the outside world while he was dying deep inside trying to hide his feelings for C.C. from everyone, even from his own self sometimes. But he also knew that he couldn't act on his feeling, he had no right to act on his feeling, no as long as he was just the domestic.

He sighed in frustration at himself and ran his hand through his hair, wondering how to explain this to Fran. "Miss Fine, it doesn't matter how I feel… a woman like her never going to lay her eyes on a man like me. He said sounding incredibly pathetic, even to his own ears, so he lowered his eyes on the floor. He couldn't bring herself to look at Fran's eyes; he knew that if he did things would turn even more awkward than they already were which he honestly didn't think was possible.

"For crying out loud Niles!" Fran exclaimed obviously upset at his pessimistic way of thinking, looking away from him and shaking her head slightly. "How can you be so sure, when you didn't even give it a chance?" She asked as she turned her head to face him once again only to notice that he still wasn't looking at her properly.

Niles paused for a second and took a deep breath, before he said the words he knew would cause him only more pain, but words that had to be said nonetheless. "Because this isn't a fairytale or some kind of soap opera on tv, this is real life, Fran, and in real life social and financial status count a lot. She is a rich, upper class, beautiful woman and I 'am just…a big, fat, ugly butler. What can I possibly offer her that she doesn't already have?" Niles returned before sighing deeply, trying to control the wild beating of his heart and keep his emotions in check, but it was becoming more and more difficult.

"Love." Fran answered simply.

Her answer made Niles chuckle sadly. "Miss Fine, I wish it was that simple, but it's not." He replied honestly then repeated the words once again like he was trying to convince someone, Fran or himself, he didn't know which for sure…probably both.

"It is …"Fran said instantly." You can love money, but you can't buy love because love isn't a material thing."

She let out a sigh and then she carried on. "What I'm trying to say here is, that some people indeed loves money and power, but no matter how hard they tries to deny it, deep inside they always seeking love from others because they knows that they can't buy love with their money. And Miss Babcock is not the exception to the rule."

Then paused for a moment and patted him on the shoulder. "Everything will be all right Niles, you will see, just talk to her." She offered, hoping that her words would help erase his fears, because what had just come out of her mouth was the pure truth and not some kind of empty sympathy words or lies.

Even if Niles didn't dare to let himself to believe it somehow it felt good to hear Fran saying it because he knew that she was right the most of the times about situations like that.

"Even if that's true, still I can't do that now… the time is not right...and I…I just need a little more time, just a little more time." Niles said remembering the whole dangerous situation that he and C.C. were still in.

"Fine, if this is what you want, but please keep in your mind that time is a funny thing, Niles. If you aren't careful, it could pass you right by before you have a chance to act on it." Fran stated as she stood up from the table and began to walk towards the door.

"Fran?" Niles asked, as he turned around to face her.

After flinging the door open Fran turned back to him, "Yes, Niles?"

"When Miss Babcock comes back… (He wanted to say the word safe, but he didn't dare to say it, not out loud, anyway.) …I promise you that I will talk to her."

Fran didn't reply just smiled and nodded her head then shut the door carefully behind her.

Niles' heavy sigh broke the weighty silence that Fran left behind her, as he realized just how many things he needed to tell at Miss Babcock, but of course he had a long road ahead of him before to deal with it properly, after all, everything was still up in the air, even their own lives.

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_**To be continued…**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**_**:**__ All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter seven**

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**~~o0o~~**

"Niles I'm serious here." Maxwell said letting out a deep sigh.

Niles heard him speak- even if Maxwell's voice seemed to be coming from a great distance - but his brain wasn't registering what he was saying, something about knock. "Hmm?"

"Can you PLEASE knock it off?"

"Knock what off?" Niles asked frowning in confusion.

"THIS, THIS" Maxwell yelled tapping his nails against the desk just like Niles had done a few seconds ago. "You've been drumming your fingers against the desk instead of dusting it for over an hour now and you REALLY driving me crazy. You see unlike YOU I try to work here."

Niles wanted to disagree, but he knew well that Maxwell was right. The only things that he keep on doing for over an hour now were tapping his nails nervously and constantly throwing small glances at the screen of Maxwell's phone, hidden well inside his pocket, willing it to ring or better to buzz -since he had turned the sound off-. But it wasn't totally his fault. It was almost 10 in the morning and still no call from C.C.'s abductor.

Niles couldn't help it as his mind went straight to worst case scenarios. Maybe he changed his mind about the day or time of our meeting. Or maybe he found out that I lied to him and I'm not the real Maxwell Sheffield. Or maybe he just kill… Thankfully his 'crazy' train of thought mercifully interrupted by the feeling of Maxwell's cell phone buzzing inside his pants pocket.

"Excuse me Sir, but there is something that I have to… uh... clean in the living room right now, I will finish here later." Niles informed Maxwell in a hurry while walking towards the door. Niles knew this must have sounded at least weird but at the moment to find a good excuse was the last thing on his mind.

"But…" Maxwell began to say, but before he could offer up any further objections Niles was already out of the room.

Niles stepped out of the office and shut the door tightly behind him. He looked around the room quickly to make sure no one was around or listening and then he took the cell phone from his pocket, flipped it open and placed it to his ear.

He could feel his heart banging against his chest so loud, making him almost certain that the kidnapper could hear it on the other on the other end of the line. He had honestly thought that his anxious had hit the peak the morning when the kidnapper had called for the first time, but he found that with every hour that passed since then his anxious just kept building and building up inside of him threatening to completely engulf him. Stop this and concentrate! His mind screamed at him.

Niles squeezed his eyes shut and focused only on his breathing, slowly forcing down his fear. He knew he had to be strong to make this work, for C.C.'s sake and for his own. "Hello?" Niles said in the strongest voice he could muster.

"So, Maxwell, Are you ready to get your partner back?"

Niles recognized the hateful voice on the other end of the line immediately. Yes, I'm ready. I'm ready to wrap her in my arms, hold her tightly and never let her go. How he wished he could say that out loud. Sadly, he knew he couldn't so instead he said, "Yes, I'm ready, but first I need a proof that she is still alive. Let me talk to her."

The line went silent for a few seconds then a chuckle heard. "You're just so predictable man, Maxwell."

"Hey, Blondie, it's time for you to say hi." The man informed C.C. in an ironic tone, then he put the phone to her ear with his right hand while grabbed her arm with his left, with so much force that C.C. lost her balance and fell to the ground letting out a sharp cry of pain.

The kidnapper just smiled and returned the phone back to his ear, "Is this convincing enough for you? Now hurry up. I'm not a patient person." He warned him then gave him the address and hung up, before Niles could respond.

**~~o0o~~**

**_Two hours later…_ **

RUN! RUN! RUN! C.C. could heard her mind screaming desperately at her while she was running away from the house that had been her prison for almost two days now, like some small, captured animal running away of its cage.

She could barely see where she was going as her eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden bright light after so much time inside a semi-dark room, but she covered her eyes with her arm and continued running none the less, letting her instinct to guide her.

When her vision finally adjusted she found herself running along a rocky, dirty road that looked as if it hadn't been used in a while, surrounded by tall trees on either side. She could barely see through the trees, but she was sure that was miles and miles away from any towns or villages. She had no idea where to go next everything looked the same, exactly the same so she just kept moving forward.

"Give up, Blondie. You won't get far; you are too weak." C.C. heard her kidnapper hissing at her while chasing her close behind.

Even though she didn't want to admit it to herself C.C. knew that jerk was right. Her last meal had been over 35 hours ago and her legs hadn't passed the feeling-numb stage completely. They were just getting more and more tired with every step, threatening to give out at any moment, yet C.C. wouldn't allow it… no, she couldn't just give up; she needed to warn Maxwell, to tell him it was a trap.

"Go to hell," C.C. yelled back, forcing herself to keep going until she found someone, anyone to help her.

C.C. had heard her kidnapper talking to himself mere moments after he'd hung up with Maxwell- actually was Niles, but of course C.C. didn't know that- and say that he was going to kill them both the moment will get the page to his hands. So she came up with an escape plan. She stood behind the door and waited until he came down with her breakfast, and the moment he opened the door -unaware that C.C. was standing behind it- she hit him with the door right in the face so hard he actually stumbled back a couple steps before he fell to the ground, holding his head. C.C. immediately stormed out of the room and up the stairs, knowing from the horror movies that the bad guys never stay down for long.

In the end of the stairs she found a second door. A wave of panic spread through her body making her trembling slightly. "What if the door was lock? Oh, no please…not now, please." She pleaded as she reached her shaking hand and tried the handle, luckily it was unlock. When she opened the door she found herself inside some kind of an empty living room. As soon as she spotted where the front door was, she heard a loud growl coming from the basement alerting her that the lunatic wasn't down any more. So without a second thought she opened the door and ran off the house.

Feeling him closing the distance more and more between them C.C. tried to increase her speed using whatever little energy she had left in her body which caused her to trip over a rock, and fell to the ground. Moaning in pain she tried to pull herself to her feet again, but it was already too late.

The man was faster and before she knew it he forcefully grabbed her from her arms and began roughly dragging her along the dry, dusty road and towards the house again.

"Let go of me, you maniac!" She yelled trying as hard as she could to break free of his grip, but it was useless, he was just too strong and she didn't have the necessary straight.

By the time they reached the front of the house C.C. had left barefoot - her shoes having been kicked off somewhere along the way as she fought against him- with her once beautiful dress ripped in various places and covered in dirt and her body totally exhausted after keep pushing it to its very limits for so long.

With one quickly move he lifted her up to a standing position before he maneuvered her body around to face him while wrapped his right hand tightly around her waist to keep her in place. Then he grabbed her jaw, forcing her to look up at him. Not having the strength to fight anymore C.C. just obeyed and locked her blue eyes on his hazel ones, only to come across with the coldness that lived there.

"You can't run forever you know, sooner or later the police will find you." Somehow she found the courage to say surprising even her own self.

He couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry your pretty little head about that, dear, besides you have more important things to worry about." He said as he took his gun out of his pocket and pressed the cold barrel firmly against C.C's temple.

C.C. squeezed her eyes tightly shut and then for the first time in a very, very long time started praying to God or whoever was listening at that particular moment to let all this be just a dream. I'll just close my eyes and when I open them I will wake up lying in my bed and everything will be back to normal. She thought.

"What are you thinking about? That this is a dream? Because in that case I can tell you for sure, it's not."C.C. heard her kidnapper say with complete lack of emotion in his voice, but his words were interrupted by the familiar sound of a car, coming down the rocky dirt road at high speeds, leaving a cloud of dust and dirt behind.

The second the car reached the front of the old abandoned house the driver slammed his foot hard on the brake pedal, turning the steering wheel to the right to pull over to the side of the road.

C.C. opened her eyes and turned her head to see the source of the noise. A smile lighted up her face for the first time in two days as she recognized the black limo immediately. But her smile instantly disappeared, giving its place to a gasp of shock and disbelief when the driver's side door flew open revealing the last person she expected to see.

"It seems that this awful man is right about one thing after all…" C.C., thought to herself, "…this isn't a dream this is my worst nightmare."

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_**To be continued…**_

**A/N:** _Thank you __for spending the time to read and review. All comments are greatly appreciated. :)_


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter eight**

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**~~o0o~~**

C.C. let out a gasp of surprise and her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw a very familiar person -a person she never thought she'd see again- making his way slowly to where she and her kidnapper stood. The whole setup reminded her something out of a nightmare or a movie and for a few second she wasn't sure if this was actually happening or not. At first she thought it was just her tired mind playing tricks on her, but when the male figure came a little closer and her eyes traced the side of his face, from his hairline to his chin, she was certain. He was there…Niles was there. There was no way she could be mistaken. She wanted to smile. She wanted to be happy, but a vile voice reminded her that she couldn't be.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to finally join us." C.C. heard her kidnapper say with the type of grin that she hated so much on his face. "You are late, Maxwell. Just a few more minutes and she would've been dead."

Did he just say what I thought he said? Ma-Maxwell? C.C. thought, having a hard time tearing her eyes away from Niles as he continued closing the distance between them with small, but steady steps.

Less than twenty feet away from C.C., Niles suddenly stopped walking to take a better look of the woman he'd missed more than he ever thought possible. Slowly, almost hesitantly his eyes drifted to her face. At first he expected to see fear written on it, but her face showed more than just fear, it showed, sadness, surprise, confusion, hope and something else too, something that he couldn't quite place it, all in a weird mixture of expressions. Then he trailed his eyes lower, taking in every inch of C.C.'s body, partly because just like her face he had missed her body too, but mostly because he wanted to make sure that she was all right. Her wrists were covered with several minor bruises, her blonde hair was messy and sticking out in every way possible and her once beautiful dress had seen better days, but thankfully there were no visual signs of serious injuries.

Niles let out a sigh of relief, but his relief was short lived as his focus dragged towards the side of C.C.'s face and to her right temple where the barrel of the gun was pressed.

C.C. opened her mouth ready to ask him explanations, but Niles guessing her questions he shot her a glare, pleading her to trust him for once in her life and remain silent. Of course C.C.- an original Babcock- wanted to protest, but she wisely chose to keep her mouth shut for now.

Niles rallied together every bit of his courage and start talking. "I'm here now; you don't have to do this. Look, I brought with me the page of Shakespeare's notebook just like you told me to." He said in his best calm voice, despite his rapid heartbeat and to prove his point he reached inside his coat pocket for the page.

"Slowly movements and no funny business or I'll plant a bullet in her head!" The kidnapper warned him just in case there was a gun hidden inside his pocket. Niles nodded his head and with slowly moves took the page out.

"Good, now give me the page." The hazel eyed man demanded as he held out his hand.

C.C. watching the two men silently, trying to control her famous 'Babcock' temper- she really did- but when she saw Niles ready to hand a page that worth millions and millions of dollars to that man, she lost it. "Give Maxwell's page to that scumbag and I'll kill you, with my bare hands, Hazel." C.C. yelled at Niles in anger, not realizing she just gave him away.

Her eyes grew wide and her hand flew to her mouth as the realization hit her like a bag of bricks a few seconds late but it was already too late, the words had left her mouth and there was no taking them back.

The kidnapper's body immediately tensed on high alert. "Maxwell's… page? If this is Maxwell's page then…who are YOU…Hazel? "

"I- I'm Maxwell of course… what Miss Bab...uh…my business partner, C.C., meant to say is…" Niles started instantly to explain, in a desperate attempt to amend C.C. words and save the situation, but the captor cut him off when his legs – which were on some sort of auto-pilot- took a somewhat unconscious step forward.

"Ah, ah, ah," the man admonished with a shake of his head. "Don't come any closer, Hazel. One more step and my finger might just…slip." He warned, curling his finger tighter around the trigger of the pistol for emphasis.

C.C. gulped and looked away. "Omg, what was I thinking? But then again…what Niles was thinking?" Either way she was beginning to wish she'd kept her temper under control and her mouth shut for once. "I hope I didn't just get us both killed," C.C. thought miserably.

"Okay, okay." Niles said stopping dead in his tracks.

"Good, now on your knees." He ordered, pointing at the ground with his gun.

Niles looked at him, confusion filling the lines of his face. "What?"

"You heard me!" The man hissed.

"But-." Niles began.

"No, buts! When I tell you to do something, you do it. Understand?" The kidnapper said and with those words returned the gun back to C.C. temple, warning Niles that he have no issue with pulling the trigger.

Niles nodded his head and without further argument did as he was told.

"Good, boy." The man replied in an ironic tone.

Gulping, Niles forced his breath steady. Finally, after feeling in control of his breath and voice, he opened his mouth and spoke again, "I did what you told me to, now please let her go. Just let her go!"

"Nobody goes anywhere unless I say so!" The kidnapper snapped. "Now listen to me and listen carefully." He screamed. "Here is the way it will go. We're gonna play a game. I'm going to ask you a few questions to make sure that you didn't fuck up my plans for the day and you're going to answer them. If you answer them truthfully I will let you both leave, if you lie I will shoot her in front of your eyes. "Deal?"

"No, don't believe him. C.C. yelled. He is gonna kill us anyway."

"I wasn't talking to you, Blondie. I was talking to your boyfriend here." The abductor snapped, glaring at C.C.

C.C. was about to object to the 'boyfriend' comment, but he yelled her to shut up and turned his attention back to Niles. "Deal, Hazel?"

Niles locked his blue orbs with C.C.'s, a feint trace of fear flashed through them as she mouthed 'no' but he just sighed and nodded his head very slightly, as if admitting defeat. He knew that C.C. was probably right, but he also knew that he didn't have any other choice. He had to do whatever he could to save her.

"I'll take that as a yes. So let the game begin!" The abductor exclaimed as an evil grin crossed his face.

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_**To be continued…**_

**A/N: **_A big thank you_ _to those who take the time_ _to review my story. I really appreciate your reviews :)_


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter nine**

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**~~o0o~~**

"First question, what is your name?" The man asked, breaking the silence as his gaze drifted over Nile's knelt form.

Niles swallowed hard before answered his question. "Maxwell," his tone was serious as he was trying desperately to cling onto his lie, hoping there was still time to fix this mess, but unfortunately for Niles, wishes can't always be granted.

The kidnapper's eyes narrowed."Impressive, already one strike and not even two questions into the game. Ts-ts-ts, you have to try harder than that if you plan to win, Hazel."

"Wh-what?" Niles asked, shaking his head in a mixture of fear and confusion.

"Did I forget to mention that if I caught you lying to me more than three times you lose? Woops, my bad." The abductor said the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"That's not fair!" C.C. growled as her body stiffened with rage.

"I thought I told you to shut up. I have the gun I make the rules." The man yelled at her and to prove his point he pushed the tip of the gun even harder into C.C's skull.

Niles' eyes rimmed with anger and he could feel adrenaline pumping through his vein. He wanted so much to punch him right in the face for yelled at her, but he knew that he wasn't in much of a position to put up a fight so he just pressed a finger to his lips, pleading C.C. for quiet.

"Since you have lie to me already TWO times you have only one more strike left and then you lose. So if I were you I would be very, very careful about what I say from now on. Now, one more time. What's your name? And no more lies for her good."

After a short silence, Niles decided to give in and tell the truth, not wanting to anger the short-tempered man even more than he already had. "Niles, my name is Niles."

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" The hazel eyed man mocked.

Niles would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't so terrified for C.C.'s life.

"Next question, what do you do for a living, Niles?" He asked slamming a deep emphasis on his name as if he was testing the sound of the name on his lips.

"He's just an old servant. Just leave him alone, he's got nothing to do with this." C.C.'s voice rang out, making Niles wondered for a moment if he should be offended because she had just called him old servant in front of that scum or touched from her protectiveness but when he lifted his chin a little higher and his gaze meet hers he finally settled on touched.

"Oh, but I think he has now," The kidnapper said as he withdrew his gun momentarily from C.C.'s temple and pointed it at Nile's coat pocket where Maxwell's page still rested. "How did you get the page, anyway?"

Niles swallowed and glanced away nervously, shuffling uncomfortably in his place.

The man studied him and sighed. "I ask you a question!" His voice was sharper this time.

Niles' glance shifted between the kidnapper and C.C. who watched the scene before her helplessly, trying to ignore the feel of the cold metal that pressed hard against her head, giving her a serious headache. Then his mouth moved as if he was murmuring something, but it was so quiet that he didn't even hear it himself.

"Louder, I can't hear you!" The captor demanded.

"I stole it from Maxwell." Niles screamed it as loud as her voice would allow, then stared at the floor blankly, unable to meet C.C.'s eyes as the shame from his action washed over him. If he had been looking at C.C., he would have caught the flicker of sock that passed on her face when he said those words. Although C.C. wasn't so much socking from the action-which of course was dreadfully wrong- but from the reason behind it which was to save HER, not a friend or a lover, but HER his arch nemesis. It took all of her willpower, but somehow C.C. managed to fight back the smile that threatened to stretch her lips, thus when Niles finally allowed himself to look at her expression he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

"Who else knows about our 'meeting'?" Niles heard the kidnapper's voice say and shook his head."Not a soul, I swear…" The kidnapper let out a sigh of relief. "Good! Let's move on to more personal questions now. How long have you two known each other?"

Niles' eyes narrow in confusion before raised his head to glare at the taller man. They were in the middle of a hostage situation; and this man wanted to discuss relationships? Oh, he had a bad feeling about this. "What's the point of…" He started to say but he was cut off before he could finish his question, I'm making the questions here NOT the other way around. Now answer me. The kidnapper ordered forcefully.

Niles didn't like where this line of questioning was leading, but he answered this question, as well realizing that he wasn't going to be able to get out of the question. "Almost twenty year."

"Twenty years? Wow, that's a long time. Are you two together?" The captor asked switching his gaze between C.C. and Niles.

Niles' and C.C.'s jaws hung open in utter shock and their disbelieving eyes grew as big as saucers then they both said in union, "what? No!" Their voices tone, although were completely different. C.C.'s voice had a scary tone while Niles' had a sad one. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the kidnapper who cracked a small grin at this. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I strike a nerve?" He asked but Niles and C.C. were speechless. They couldn't even look into each other's eyes.

"Interesting" The man whispered then there was a tiny pause in the storm of questions making Niles and C.C. wondered for a brief moment if he was done, but unfortunately for them he wasn't. When the man spoke again there was a hint of curiosity in his voice, "why is that?"

Niles was shocked by his question, but decided to play dumb. "What do you mean why is that?" He asked, arranging his features into a form he hoped resembled confusion.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me, Niles." The abductor snapped impatiently.

Cold sweat broke out across Niles forehead. "It's… complicated," he answered slowly, unsure how to word this.

C.C. opened her mouth to say something, but she snapped it shut. There wasn't really anything to say to that. Plus she couldn't deny that Niles had a point.

The kidnapper titled his head to the side, "Why?"

Niles remained silent for a moment then exhaled slowly through his nostrils before continuing "Uh, well… let's just say that…I push her buttons … as good as she pushes mine." He confessed taking awkward pauses in between his sentences.

The kidnapper raised his eyebrow, before lowering her gaze to see C.C. staring at Niles, an unreadable expression on her face. "So, you two, teasing each other?"

"That's a light way to put it.… it could be pretty harsh at times you know, despite the circumstances, but it's not only my fault, Miss Babcock like it rough." Niles replied putting extra emphases on the last word. His lips curled into a self-satisfiedsmirk when he rewarded with the familiar fire spark through C.C.'s brilliant blue eyes – a spark that he had dearly missed - before she scowled at him. "How dare you…you poor excuse of a butler, take that back now or…."

"Or what, BOOBCOCK?" Niles challenged her through his growing smirk, not missing a beat while his dilated eyes changing from the previous dark, foggy blue to a sparkling light, blue color that matched hers as they slipped into their usual routine of insulting each other.

The captor caught their gazes, they were angry- that much was obvious- but there was something else buried underneath their anger it took him a moment, but he recognized it, was sexual tension.

Their tango of verbal insults was interrupted a few rounds later by the Kidnapper's angry voice. "Alright, both of you enough!" He barked, glaring at the two. "Another word out of you two and I will plant a bullet in both of your stubborn skulls."

"He started it!" C.C. complained, pointing a shaky finger at Niles who gave her a mocking look in return, but she drew it almost instantly back afraid that the man would automatically pull the trigger if provoked.

"I don't care who started it and do not speak unless spoken to!" The tall man warned her, tightening his arm around her waist, making C.C., to shift slightly in his grip with a grunt of discomfort, unable to stand the press of his sweaty arm against her thin waist.

"What exactly do you tease her about?"

"I uh," the butler exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "… different kind of things…"

"Oh, don't be shy. Go ahead and give us a few examples." The large man said in a rather mocking tone.

Niles opened his mouth, but C.C. raised an eyebrow at him, giving the 'don't you dare or so help me God, I will kill you myself,' look.

"I'd rather not," Niles replied trying to avoid the subject. It wasn't that he was scary that C.C. will kill him -even if he knew that was more than capable- it was that his mind was screaming at him to defend his and C.C's pride in front of this man.

"I don't believe I was asking." The kidnapper warned him.

Niles sighed, lowering his gaze to the ground. This was ridiculous the questions were made to be embarrassingly personal and yet he couldn't find a possible way out of it.

"Alright, alright, things… that I tease her about…, um… the color of her hair… uh… her weight, um… her age, and… uh…" he traveled his eyes up and down her body, searching for something else to say. It was much easier when they were in a middle of a fight.

"Can we skip this one please?" C.C. yelled in embarrassment looking at the Kidnapper who seemedto enjoy it way too much to put an end to it

"And… I guess… her looks in general." Niles finished not wanting to say more.

"So, you hate her?"

Niles blinked a few times, groped for the right words.

"Don't make me repeat myself." He admonished, when he didn't get an answer.

"I… I don't know," Niles mumbled, as he stared off at nothing in particular. "Maybe." was all he could think of to say.

"Maybe? What kind of answer is maybe? Do you think I'm stupid, Hazel?" The captor yelled, his voice snapping with anger.

"No, it's just… em…I… I cannot say that I hate her. Then again, I cannot say that I like her either." Partly it was the truth; he couldn't say that he loved her, not in front of him and not while he knew that he could easily use it against him.

Judging by the look on the kidnapper face Niles was sure that he didn't like his answer, but surprisingly instead of pressed him, he just moved on to the next question, "You tease her about her looks, you say. Do you think she's… ugly?"

"Ugly?" Niles repeated in a mumble voice, as if he was talking to himself. "… well… no, I don't think she's ugly." He answered truthfully, glancing at C.C. from the corner of his eye who rolled her eyes and mumbled something that sounded like 'Yeah, sure'.

"So you say she is pretty?" The abductor asked while raised an eyebrow, urging Niles to answer.

Niles opened his mouth several times, but continually snapped it shut, looking unsure about what to say. "Well …she is…hmm…fine…I guess." He tried to make his question sound casual, but the kidnapper wasn't fooled.

"Is that all?"

Niles' face twisted with confusion. "What do you mean, is that all?"

The kidnapper tilted his head in C.C.'s direction and shifted the gun, lightly stroking her cheek with the cold metal. "Well…look at her. Wouldn't you consider her as attractive? Pretty even?" He asked although it was more of a statement than a question.

Niles ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Yeah, she is that too." He replied.

At Niles words, he did begin to smile a little, clearly amused by his annoyance. "Just pretty? Very poor choice of words don't you think? Any more… colorful words?"

Once again he was mocking him and Niles couldn't stand this part of sick game anymore. Physical pain was one thing, but this...this was just cruel."For god's sake, why don't you just tell me what you want to hear so we can move on?" Niles demanded in a voice shaking with barely controlled anger.

But this only seemed to entertain the man more. His brown eyes flickering with amusement as he chuckled, shaking his head. "You know damn well what I want to hear, Niles. So, go on and spit the truth out already, I haven't got all day here!" He yelled right back impatiently. He needed his answer, and he needed it now.

Finally, Niles gave up, knowing that it would be no use. Nothing would satisfy him until he receives the answer he was looking for. It didn't matter much anyway; anyone in his right mind could see C.C. was beautiful. What was the use of denying it? "Fine, alright, you win! The woman is beautiful!" Niles finally admitted trying to hide his face from C.C.

"So then you're physically attracted to her?"

Niles' face paled noticeably, before he glanced up at C.C. who stood motionless like a status, too bewildered from his last answer to do or say anything.

"I…uh…no, of course I'm not attracted to her…I mean, the woman is a trollop, a beautiful trollop, but a trollop none the less." Niles lied hoping this time will trick him better than he had done with his name.

His words were like splash of cold water on C.C.'s face."That's it, bell boy, make your pray, because I'm gonna kill you right know." C.C. screamed attempting to throw herself at Niles and cut him into pieces, completely ignoring the metal barrel against her temple, but the kidnapper's strong hand forced her in place.

"Calm down wildcat," the tall man shouted next to C.C.'s ear then turned his attention back to Niles. "You're a bad liar, Niles" he hissed, cocking his gun and getting ready to pull the trigger.

C.C. squeezed her eyelids shut, preparing herself of what was going to happen. But before he could do anything, Niles's voice cried out frantically, "No, no please wait."

"Tell the truth then," He said simply, taking his finger away from the trigger and repeating the question, this time it sounded more like an accusation than a question. "Are you attracted to her?"

Niles couldn't believe what he was about to say, but there was no other option and if was he couldn't risk it, no with C.C. "Yes I am. I'm attracted to Miss Babcock."

C.C. raised her eyebrows, unable to contain her surprise about how uncharacteristic his behavior was. Niles of all people…the same man who always made fun of her weight, her age and called her awful names like witch and caca, was admitting that… that… he liked her… in THAT way? No...no… he couldn't, this was just another act to convince that lunatic…right?

"In what way?" The man questioned his voice steely and cold.

Niles heaved a great sigh, wondering if this torture would ever end. "I told you she is beautiful what else you want?" His voice as cold as his.

"So it's just her looks?" The hazel eyed man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, not just her looks," Niles mumbled miserably. He knew there was no use in denying it any longer. It was obvious that the man already have figured out what he had been trying to hide for so long.

"Then what else?" The abductor pressed him.

Niles cast his eyes to the ground. He could give the long, passionate speech about his feelings another time, under other circumstances. In that moment, the word 'everything' was all Niles could think of to say, hoping simple words would work best, unfortunately he turned out wrong a few seconds later when the kidnapper yelled, "What do you mean everything?" His voice rose slightly. "Come on Niles I know you can do better than that!"

Niles closed his eyes and repeated honestly."Everything," Then opened his eyes took a deep breath and spit out the words in a rush. "I like the way she laugh, smile, or challenge me, her strong willed and unique personality, the smell of perfume that that lingers when she leaves a room, the way she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear whenever she is nervous, I like every little thing about her, every little detail, everything. Always have, always will. Happy now?"

C.C. just stood there, with her mouth hanging open, too stunned to say a word. Everything was happening so fast to process what she had just heard, properly, but she felt something started to change inside her, despite the desperation and danger of the situation that both were still in, something very strange, deep within the pit of her stomach began to heat.

"You've done fairly well, Niles so I'll give you a reward." The kidnapper informed the butler causing a bitter laugh to escape Niles' lips before he mumbled sarcastically "Gee, thanks," but the man just ignored him and continued talking.

"I will ask you only one more question. Don't worry is a very simple yes or no question. Remember if you answer this one truthfully I will let you both go, so don't screw all up now."

When Niles heard the last few words his heart began to thud so loud in his chest as though it was trying to escape his body, but he forced himself to put up a brave front. No, failure was just not an option at this point, not when C.C's life was still on the line. Then he exchanged a look with C.C. Inside her eyes he saw fear and hope that made him wordlessly vowing to protect and save her, no matter what.

"Okay, now here's the million dollar question," the abductor cooed as he kept his gun fixed on the Blondie's head."Are you in love with her?"

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:** _Thank you_ _to those who take the time_ _to review my story. I really appreciate your reviews :)_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter ten**

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**~~o0o~~**

Niles swallowed hard as he stared into the barrel of the gun that remained pressed directly at C.C.'s head. "I…" it was the only word that escaped his mouth before it closed shut. The pause that followed left C.C. holding her breath, but then Niles opened his mouth again only to close it for a second time when the faint sounds of sirens filled the air. Startled Niles slowly turned his head in the direction that the sound seemed to have come from.

The kidnapper gasped and focused his panicked eyes on Niles who was still knelt on the ground with his left hand curled into a tight fist and the right steadying his weight just a few feet away from him. "You called the cops!" He shouted at Niles as he pulled C.C. closer to him, her back touching his chest.

C.C.'s gaze, which had never left Nile's face, became intense as she waiting for Niles response.

"No! You have Miss Babcock. I wouldn't do that!" Niles cried out, trying to defend himself.

"Then who did it?" He asked not seeming to believe a word Niles said while he replaced the pistol to C.C's temple.

C.C. tried to remain composed, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The harder the captor dug the barrel of gun into the soft skin of her temple the faster her heart pound, pumping more and more adrenalin throughout her body. One false move, one small slip of the finger and she would meet her death.

"I have no idea. I swear." Niles replied truthfully, trying to keep his terror under control, but some of his terror was dripped from his voice without his permission. "They're probably not even coming here."

"You are lying to me Niles… AGAIN!" The kidnapper's voice sounded angry and cold as it filled the air. "And what did I tell you would happen if you did that?"

"No, I'm not, you have to-" Niles began to say but he was forced to break off when the abductor suddenly ordered. "Get up!"

Niles pressed his fists into the ground to take some of the pressure from his knees and slowly forced himself back on his feet. Once he was fully upright, he lifted his head and found the barrel of the gun aiming at him. Niles gaze moved from the weapon up to the face of the kidnapper and the back to the weapon as he waved with it, "Give me the page."

"What?"

"Give it to me!" The kidnapper demanded, his finger stroking the trigger.

Niles swallowed heavily and removed the forgotten page from his coat pocket then reluctantly handed it to him. "Here."

The man snatched the page from the Niles's hands and shoved it in his jacket pocket then turned his focus back to Niles. "It was very rude of you to bring playmates to our game when I clearly told you not to." He said as his finger began to tighten on the trigger. "Now you have to suffer the consequences."

A desperate, pleading voice escaped Niles paling lips."Please, don't! Don't kill her."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill her." The kidnapper hissed, his voice laced with venom as his hold on C.C. became tighter, making it hard for her to breathe.

"One reason?"

"Yes, just one but you better speak it fast, because you got only till I count to three."

C.C. wasn't sure whose heart beat louder hers or Niles, but she was sure that, in the moment, she could hear both of them.

"One..." The hazel eyed man yelled loud enough for all of them to hear.

Niles felt the world crumbling around him but squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus. "Think old man, think! He is going kill her, right here, right in front of your eyes if you don't think something."

"Two... Come on Niles, I have very little time and the clock is ticking."

"Jesus, Niles say something, just say something! C.C. thought to herself.

"Three-"

Oh, God! Oh, God! No, this can't be the end C.C. thought hearing a small clicking sound as the trigger of the gun slowly pulling back, but just then, at the very last moment, Niles's voice spoke loud, stopping her death literally in its tracks. "Because you need my help."

The kidnapper withdrew the pressure from the trigger, but kept his finger curled around it then he laughed a sarcastic laugh before saying, "what makes you think I need your help?"

"Because as you said you running out of time." Niles said as the siren began to grow louder and louder with every second. "The cops will be here soon and if they indeed looking for you then you will need my help to escape.

The captor seemed to consider this for a moment then relaxed a little his strong grip around C.C.'s waist, but not enough for her to pull away and replied, "Listening…,"

"Here's the deal; you let Miss Babcock go and if the cops do show up for you I will cover you by telling them that all was a misunderstood then I will take you to wherever you want to go and I will not resist." Niles tried to reason with the madman."

In response the man laughed a disgusting laugh. "Hero to the end, ha? Well I have a better idea, you will bring me the car and I let you go then I will take the Blondie here and we will leave the country. How does that sound to you, Hazel? "

Niles gritted his teeth and his forehead creased with anger and so many more emotions as the sickening smile on kidnappers face informed him blatantly that he would do more to her than just take her away, but somehow he managed to regain the control of his anger. A collected state of mind was the only way to stay strong and save her.

C.C. felt her stomach flip from disgust and started struggling against his grasp causing his grip to tight again. "If this disgusting psycho thinks he is going to have his way with me I rather die right now." She thought to herself.

Niles briefly met C.C.'s frightened eyes before returning his attention to the man and back to C.C's face again. "No way, I'm not leaving without her."

"Well then you don't leave me much of a choice, I'll have to get rid of you a different way," The man said cocking the gun and aiming it at Niles.

"No!" C.C. yelled shifting slightly her body and putting her hands against the kidnapper's chest trying to stop him."I'll go with you. Just don't shoot Niles."

"Miss Babcock, I can't let you do this, I can't let you leave with him," Niles told her firmly.

"I'll be fine," she lied to him with the best convincing voice she could give. Although she didn't know if she would ever be alright again. "I'm C.C. Babcock remember? I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me."

Of course Niles didn't believe her. How could he possibly believe when that scum had made his dirty intentions pretty clear only a few minutes ago? "No, way in hell! If something happens to you my life would have no meaning without you." Niles said truthfully, gazing deep into C.C.'s eyes and for a moment, there weren't anyone around them, no deathly situation, only the two of them.

"Oh, how toughing," the kidnapper said in a mocking tone before C.C. got the chance to say anything in response. "Like a scene out of a love story. Hmm…I think it's time to give you two lovebirds your proper ending then, than the whole cliché they lived happily ever after together end."

"Easy there! Why don't you just put the gun down so we can talk about it? No one has to get hurt here." Niles said keeping his voice calm like he was talking to a mad man – well, he actually was- trying to reason with him one more time but his voice was a bit more shaky than he would have liked.

"That's funny; I don't believe I was negotiating this. Only one of you two gonna leave alive from here today so the question is…who is gonna be you or her?" The kidnapper shouted, saying each word slowly with a hint of impatience creeping into his tone.

Everything was fuzzy and slow and loud at the same time inside Niles' mind. He didn't know what to do, what he could do. All he could think was the gun against C.C.'s head so he said the first think that popped inside his mind, "Me, shoot me and walk out of here." His voice was firmly, but there was an edge of pleading in it.

"What?" C.C. exclaimed in shock as she glanced at Niles. Sweat was forming at his hairline. "Are you out of your mind, Butler boy? You don't really want to risk your life for me."

Niles closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then opened them again and said, "Consider it done already, besides I can't say that I'm risking much of a life."

Their blue orbs locked together. "If you think that your life sucks that much then try being in my place." Her sentence came out in a broken whisper and she looked away from him, breaking their eye contact.

Niles understood the meaning behind her words but pretended that he didn't. No, he couldn't let her drown in self pity now, he needed her concentrate and strong and knew that there was only one way to achieve that so he said, "If you didn't notice this is exactly what I'm trying to do the last few minutes, you baboon, but you are so damn stubborn that just don't listen." Niles exclaimed in anger giving her a 'well, duh' look."

"You don't listen, Dust Mop. This man is really gonna kill you. He'll... So just go and find some toilets to scrub and just forget about me. I don't need you here, I don't want you here." Her voice had the usual rough, full of Babcock authority tone, but her eyes were soft silently pleading him. Niles only looked in their blue depths for a second before he knew how scary she really was for him. He wondered if they mirrored his eyes.

The man chuckled, glancing at C.C's tense figure. The barrel of his gun remained aimed at her.

"Well then I'm sorry, but you can't talk me out of it Miss Babcock. That's a risk I'm willing to take because there is no way in hell to leave you to die here." No, he couldn't do that: he wouldn't, it would be a thousand times worse than death itself. Then turned his gaze to the kidnapper and yelled as loud as he could, "Do it now! Kill me instead of her and just let her go, let her go."

C.C. felt the gun leave her head before the captor pointed it at Nile's head. "So you'd rather have me shoot you than her?"

"Yes, a thousand times yes!" Niles screamed only to hear C.C.'s panic yell almost instantly, "No!" Her voice was strained and filled with emotion, but Niles knew that there was no way back now he had made his decision. He had to do this, for her, the woman he loved.

"Shut up!" Niles yelled hoarsely, staring into her eyes while the man pointed the gun back at C.C's head. He didn't want those words to be the last memory of him to her, but he was so frightened for her life that the words escaped his lips before he even had a chance to really think about them.

"Just leave me, Niles, leave!" C.C. yelled one more time hoping for once in his life he would just do as she asked him to. Her voice was thick, almost as if she was about to cry, but she couldn't cry. There wasn't time to break down now.

Niles shook his head stubbornly. "Never!" He yelled putting emphasis on the word, trying desperately to make the gun aimed away from her.

Not knowing what else to do C.C. directed her eyes at the kidnappers face pleading him. "Please, don't kill him. Please!" It was an act of desperation that surprised even herself. She was a Babcock and Babcocks never beg -especially for a servant's life- they just reach out their hands and took what they want but in that very moment nothing of all them mattered, nor the name or the social position or the power or the money, because what really mattered was above all of them inside C.C.'s mind and heart, it was Niles life.

Niles opened his mouth to protest again, but the kidnapper cut him off.

"Silence both of you! I'm done with this. I'm done with your heroic craps," he yelled outraged putting his hand on the small of C.C's back and shoved her forcefully forward in a swift movement -as if she were some kind of trash- towards Niles who instinctively reached for her, but withdrew his hand when the kidnapper scolded at him gripping the gun tightly with both hands, "Ah ah ah...Don't even think about it. Now stay still!"

"Okay, okay" Niles said choosing his words very carefully knowing that a wrong word might give this guy cause to shoot one of them only to realize a few seconds later that it was already too late. "The game is over." Niles heard her captor say before pointed the gun at C.C. and pulled the trigger. Everything was suddenly blurred in slow motion as the sound of the gunshot rang loudly in the air. Before C.C. even realized what was happening, Niles threw himself on top of her screaming, "Miss Babcock, watch out," then C.C. felt her back land on the ground, with Niles on top of her and then… nothing. Everything around her was quiet, too quiet. C.C. expected him to move, roll off her and onto the ground beside her, or to at least lift his head up to look at her eyes and tell her that he was fine, but he did neither of them. Using every single bit of her energy and strength she pushed him off her and slowly rolled him onto his back then she felt something warm and wet onto her fingers. Blinking a few times she turned her gaze at them. What she saw dripping from her fingers made her to throw her head back and look up at the drowned sky as a high-pitched scream escaped the very deepest depths of her soul. "Nooooo!"

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:** _Hello, hello guys! __Thank you to all who reviewed __chapter nine__!_ _Since after this chapter, there's only two more chapters to go, I've decided to let YOU, the readers, choose if I should end this story happy or sad or even in both ways (means __two different chapters, one with sad ending and one with happy ending.) I'm fine with all the options and I will just go with the majority. So please leave a comment to let me know what you guys want. Thanks! _**_PS:_ **_I'll also __try to __update my other stories as soon as I can_. _:)_


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter eleven**

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**~~o0o~~**

_******End of flashback******_

**Niles' POV:**

People say that your whole life flashes before your eyes right before you die like a movie. They say that all the things that really matter, all the things you really love, comes to you in scenes, pieces and bits, in a random order, causing you the ultimate happiness and this part of the movie is called Paradise. And then as the bright light takes your soul away, those scenes slowly fades, like some old film lost in a wooden closet until there is nothing left but the silence of death, causing you the ultimate misery and this part of the movie is called Hell. You can't avoid it, you can't postpone it.

Well …

…it's not true.

No, my life didn't pass in front of my eyes. I didn't see any flashes of my past or special moments. I didn't see my parents, Maxwell, Miss Fine or the kids and I didn't see any big long tunnel with a bright light at the end. In fact, I didn't see anything at all really, but I swear to God I heard…a voice…her voice…calling my name and saying something about a promise.

Oh yes, the promise. I had promised to her… I had promised to my C.C.…

…and with that thought, my eyes flew open.

She was there … my blonde angel was there, above me, holding my face in her warm hands, so very warm against my cold skin.

"The ambulance is coming, but you have to hold on!" She said to me as a hot tear slide down her cheek and into my lips adding a hint of saltiness at the metallic taste of blood that filled my mouth.

Sure I had seen her a lot of times sad and even more times mad, I maybe even saw her cry a time or two but I'm not even one hundred percent positive of that. What I did know for sure is that I had never seen her cry like that because of …me.

"Please, Miss Babcock, please don't cry my body is a little cold and numb, but I think I'm better, I can't feel pain any longer." I told her trying to calm her down, but she didn't response to me, quite the opposite. She was acting like I wasn't there. She was totally ignoring me. Maybe she was mad at me, maybe was blaming me for all this mess or maybe she was just scared or maybe shocked…so many maybes.

I tried to raise my hand, I tried to touch my roughed fingers to the velvet of her check, to ask her what was wrong, but I found that my hands were pinned under a heavy, unmovable force. "It seems that my body is more numb than I thought." I told to myself.

Then I noticed that someone appeared to be watching me, someone besides C.C., just a few feet away. My vision was a little blurry, but I recognized the uniform he was wearing almost instantly, he was a police officer. He seemed rather young, not more than twenty-five and had a sad expression on his face while he was looking down at my body and talking into his radio. An expression of relief crossed my face for the first time in days. The police had indeed came here after all, which means that my C.C. is save, but then where that scum is? I opened my mouth to ask C.C. if he escaped or got arrested by the police but the young police officer interrupted me, "is he okay, Ma'am?"

C.C. glanced at him like he was insane, only for a moment before returning her eyes at me."Does he look okay to you, you moron? And where the hell is that damn ambulance it should be here by now?" She yelled angrily, sending chills down the boy's spine.

"It's coming, Ma'am, I just talked to the driver on the radio."

"It better get here fast or help me God I'll throw him into the back seat of the limo and I will drive him to the hospital myself if I have to."

I was ready to make a joke, -that she barging like a dog at the poor kid- when her fingers slide to my neck, checking my pulse. Then she leaned forward and violently shook my shoulder and shouted, "Listen to me, dust mop. Don't you dare die on me! I swear, if you die on me, I will follow you into heaven and I will kill you with my bare hands."

"But I had read in the Bible that God forbidden you to return back when he kicked you out of heaven?" I teased her, trying to lighten her mood a bit and to help her see that I felt well enough to crack jokes. Then I was waiting for a zinger, and nothing. I even set her up again, I said, "don't make me get ugly" but the zinger never came. That was the moment when the truth hit me full force, she couldn't hear me. No one could. Oh no, this could mean only one thing…that I'm…I'm …dead!? The words came out sounding more like a question than a realization but they socked me all the same. But if I'm dead why am I still here? I asked, feeling panic rise up inside of me."Calm down," I whispered to myself. "Calm down and think," I said a little louder, knowing now that nobody could hear me anyway. Maybe I'm trapped in…what do they call it? Oh yeah, 'the In-Between'. They say that it's the state in-between life and death and you cannot pass on to the afterlife or turn back until someone 'up there' -God or Angel or whatever- decide your place, your fate. I'm not sure if this is meant as a reward or a punishment, but I know that if this is true then there's nothing else for me to do other than to wait and watch things happen without be able to intervene.

Thus, I decided to focus my eyes on C.C.'s and finally my panicked body relaxed slightly. I stared into C.C's eyes for what felt like ages, but in reality couldn't have been more than a few seconds.

She knew I had lost too much blood. She knew I was leaving. She could feel my pulse weakening, but she was stubborn…so stubborn to admit it. She just shaking her head in denial while she was yelling at me over and over again, "No, you're not going to die. I'm not letting you die." She was not ready to say goodbye to me, but neither do I to her. Not now. Not never.

"You promised me…you promised me that you will try…" C.C.'s voice came out in the most broken whisper I had ever heard in my life.

And I had tried, really tried, like I had promised her to but I just couldn't…it wasn't up to me anymore. Promises are made to be broken. A voice echoed inside my mind and the word 'broken' repeated a few times. I wanted to scream at the voice to shut up, but that would take a lot of energy and I had almost none. I felt myself slowly drifting and I could tell that this was it. The decision had been taken. "You should let me go now, C.C. It's time." I whispered while my eyes caressed her face, trying to memorize every little detail, every inch of her porcelain skin. I wanted to take that image with me.

C.C. felt a sob welling up in her throat and escaping it before she could stop it. "Please, Niles, I beg you, don't go. Don't leave me alone. Please wake up. I need you."

"Nonsense's you are C.C. Babcock the strongest woman I ever know. Always have been, always will be. You going to be okay, everything will be okay. You don't need me, you don't need anyone."

"I know it's selfish, but I don't want you to go," C.C. hissed. "I -" She didn't need to finish her sentence. We were both aware very well of the word that completed it but she pulled me up closer to her chest and brushed her lips against my ear as she whispered, "love you" before she sobbed again, resting her forehead to mine. I couldn't feel physically pain anymore but somehow at that very moment I did, I felt her pain. What an irony! I've been waiting forever to hear those words coming out of her mouth and now that I finally heard them, those words caused me pain.

"I love you, too." I whispered but she didn't hear me. She didn't hear the matching pain in my voice while I was falling farther and farther into the dark abyss, taking our chance and all the what-could-have-been's with me. Faintly, I could make out the sound of distant sirens. They were coming, but it was too late… I was gone.

_**To be continued…**_

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_**A/N: **__Oh, poor Niles *sigh* I really, really hate myself right now and I guess you guys hate me too but before you caps lock me to death I just wanna say, in my defense, that this story will have a happy ending just like you asked me to, so pretty, pretty please bear with me until the next chapter, thanks! _


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended. _

**A/N: **_Hello guys! This was supposed to be one long, final Chapter, but according to my last post, it's been one month since my last update -*facepalm* I'm so sorry - so I decided to split the chapter into two parts. Here is the first part I will try to post the second and last chapter/part within a few days – don't worry the next chapter is almost ready, I just wanna put in a few more things first- I hope you don't mind:)_

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter twelve**

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**~~o0o~~**

The blissful sound of ambulance sirens cut through the air as the emergency vehicle pulled up to the side of the old house and three paramedics -two males one female- jumped out.

"Quickly, do something I can't find a pulse!" C.C. yelled in their direction before returning her concentration back to Niles' motionless form that rested into her lap.

The female paramedic immediately rushed beside C.C., dropped to her knees and searched Niles' neck for a pulse. When she found none she ordered one of her partners to pull out their portable defibrillator while the other gently removed Niles from C.C.'s lap. Of course C.C. didn't want to leave his side, but she knew the paramedics needed space so they could work on him.

As soon as the second paramedic came back with the portable defibrillator the female ripped open Niles' shirt and applied some gel on the paddles.

"CLEAR!" She called out to warn the others to stand back before pressing the paddles onto Niles' chest.

Time seemed to stop for C.C. as she watched Niles' body jolt momentarily from the ground while the electricity ran through him before fell back again.

One of the male paramedics anxiously placed his fingertips on Niles' neck searching for a pulse. Nothing.

C.C. took Niles' cool hand in hers and squeezed it tight. "Come on, Hazel" she pleaded under her breath. "Come back to me."

"Charging to 300" The female paramedic with the paddles exclaimed as one of the males increased the joules.

C.C. let go of Niles' hand and just watched helplessly as they shocked him again.

"CLEAR!"

Niles body once again shook briefly as the electric jolt from the portable defibrillator coursed through his body before fell still again.

The female paramedic placed her fingers on Niles's neck and felt for a pulse then looked at C.C. with sad eyes,"I'm so sorry, Miss, we did all we could."

The blonde shook her head forcefully in denial, "No, please do it one more time, just one more time." She pleaded with all her might. "Please…"

The female paramedic was an old hand at her job and she knew there was no use to continue with the procedure any longer, but there was something in C.C. eyes, something so heartbroken she hoped she would never have to see it again. "Ok guys, get ready, we're gonna do it one more time. She said loudly."

"CLEAR!"

Once again everybody stopped what they were doing to watch if Niles responded, holding their breaths.

The woman held two fingers against Niles neck looking for a pulse. C.C. couldn't describe the feeling of relief that flashed across her face when after a few seconds she finally announced, "We have a pulse! Its weak, but its there."

Then they put an oxygen mask over Niles' face, get him onto a gurney and lifted him into the ambulance in a rush.

C.C was ready to climb in after him, when the paramedic that had pulled her off Niles, put his hand out blocking her way.

"I'm going with him, he needs me." C.C. said, not taking her eyes off Niles' face.

"Are you his wife, fiancée or any other kind of family member?" the paramedic asked looking down at her with a very serious expression on his face.

His question took C.C. by surprise, "No, I…we…," she let out a frustrated sigh, "it's complicated but..."

"In that case I'm sorry, Miss, but I can't let you get in." The man interrupted her sharply before she you could finish her explanation. "Only family is allowed in the ambulance with the patient. You can follow us to the hospital in the police car if you want."

"What? There is no way…" C.C. started to say angrily, but was once again cut off.

"Listen to me Miss, he's stable, but I don't know for how long. We need to take him to hospital now." He almost snapped at her, hoping that she would catch the 'back off' that he silently implied with his words.

"No, you listen to me,"C.C. spat, pressing her index finger against his chest. "I'm getting in this ambulance and nothing can stop me." She told him in her most threatening Babcock voice while looking deep into his eyes, showing him that she meant it.

"It's okay Bernard," the female paramedic interrupted; patting him on the back, "she can ride in the back, with me."

"But the rules…" he trailed off as the woman raised her hand, stopping him in mid-sentence.

"I am the team leader, Bernard, so you will do as I say." She told him firmly, leaving no room for disagreement.

Bernard stared at the female paramedic frozen for a minute, then sighed, feeling defeat and took a step to the side allowing C.C. to climb in.

The female paramedic helped C.C. up into the ambulance and slammed the door shut, the vehicle immediately speed towards Howard hospital with the sirens blaring and the lights flashing.

**~~o0o~~**

The hour that followed passed in a blur for C.C. until they finally reached the hospital and took Niles to surgery to get the bullet out. A few minutes later a nurse guided her to the waiting room.

C.C. felt like she was on autopilot, she didn't know what to do, what she could do, so she just sat heavily to the first empty plastic chair she found in the waiting room letting her thoughts to overtake her troubled mind.

She thought about the horrible events that had occurred in the last few days. She thought about the regrets she held. She thought about how much she loved him and how blind, how fool she was for not realizing it any sooner.

Then she thought about all the moments they wouldn't have if he…. She knew that she shouldn't let her mind go down that 'dark path', but she couldn't help it. She thought about all the arguments, all the threats, insults and teasing that wouldn't happen between them, all the dances to their favorite song they wouldn't have, all the drinks that they wouldn't meet up for and all smiles, kisses they wouldn't share. Ohhh, If only she …they had a second chance.

If only...

**~~o0o~~**

C.C.'s blue eyes nervously scanned over the waiting room, she had been doing this for the last thirty or so minutes. It felt like an eternity had passed since the last time she'd been in this hospital, and what an irony for the same person –Niles- but for a different reason – Niles' heart attack- however apart from that nothing at all had changed, everything looked exactly the same in the waiting room, the plain white walls, the uncomfortable plastic seats, the disturbing smell of antiseptics in the air and the big clock on the wall which ticked so slowly as if it mocking her, but C.C. Babcock was not a patient person, in fact, the last time she was here she had come so close to lose her temper, rip that damn clock off the wall and smash it up into tiny million pieces and she was extremely near to lose her temper again.

A couple of long minutes later her extremely tired eyes began to shut and suddenly wished she had accepted that cup of coffee Nanny Fine had offered her two hours ago and she had turned it down, surprisingly not because it was Nanny Fine who had made the coffee offer, -besides Nanny Fine was so kind with C.C. from the first moment she and Maxwell arrived to the hospital, she had even brought her a clean dress to wear and a pair of shoes, luckily for C.C. Gracie had chosen them-, but because her stomach was tied into knots from anxiety and she didn't think she could keep anything down.

Suddenly, as if on cue with her thoughts, a soft hand gently squeezed her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly. "Coffee?" a gently male voice asked her before pulling away. She knew who it was before turned around to face him. After all, she could recognize that cologne everywhere. How could she not… she had adored his Armani cologne for years…well, not anymore, at least not in the way she used to.

"Thanks," she said as she turned around to find Maxwell offering her a steamy cup of coffee.

"How is he?" Maxwell asked lowering himself gracefully onto the empty chair to C.C.'s left. "Did they say anything?"

"No," C.C. answered, clutching the cup tightly between her hands and staring down into the steaming liquid unblinking. "No one has come out yet" Her voice had a type of sadness as if she was dying inside…well she was and for the first time in years or better for the first time ever… Maxwell Sheffield noticed.

"I know I'm not even half as good as Miss Fine is at comforting people, but you can talk to me," Maxwell said after a moment of silence.

She shook her head while sunk deeper into her chair."I rather not."

"You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to, but it might help you. It's not healthy for you to keep everything bottled up you know." He said using the calmest, most gentile voice he could muster.

C.C. ran a hand through her hair, feeling tears well up in her eyes before she blinked them back. "It should be me in there right now not him," she whispered eventually.

Maxwell looked at her like she had lost her mind. "You can't possible believe that, do you?"

"That lunatic that kidnapped me was going to shoot me, but Niles saw it coming, jumped on top of me and saved my life . . . he saved my life and now he is going to die because of that." C.C. whispered shifting her gaze down to the floor, because pronouncing it out loud will only make it more real.

"He'll be fine." Maxwell tried to assure her, offering a gentle smile.

She shook her head, "You do not know that."

"You are right I don't, but he is in good hands so let's try to stay positive, okay?" Maxwell replied, choosing his words carefully.

Somehow his words seemed to hit home and C.C. nodded at him in agreement. "Maybe you are right but I still can't get past the fact that it's all because of me." C.C. said before suddenly hugged him, surprising them both. "It's all my fault…my fault, Maxwell."

At first Maxwell stood there like a statue too shocked to respond but when he heard her crying into his shoulder he hugged her back. "None of this was your fault. If anything it was the kidnapper's, who by the way I'm sure he'll get what he deserves in jail, mine, because I didn't realize that something was wrong and Niles' because he took matters into his own hands instead of calling the police or telling me the truth, but even if for me what Niles did was wrong, I'm sure he had the best intentions and I don't know why, but I believe that If he had the chance to do it all again, he wouldn't have done anything different at all."

"That's what he said to me a few moments before losing consciousness." C.C. said pulling away from him and wiping a few tears away with the back of her hand.

"See?" He replied sincerely, cautiously putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The blonde sighed in exhaustion letting her blue eyes shut for a moment before reopening them. "I should have told Niles sooner." C.C. said after a few moments of awkward silence, lowering her voice to a dark whisper.

"Told him what?" Maxwell asked curiously cocking an eyebrow.

"How much I -" She cut herself off, stopping herself from saying the 'L' word by swallowing the rest of her sentence while she felt her cheeks heating up a bit, she was never good at admitting feelings openly.

"Niles knows how much you love him; Maxwell assured her, almost as if he had read her thought, making her eyes to tear up once again but this time not from sorrow.

**~~o0o~~**

C.C. glanced at the clock on the wall while tapping her foot on the floor impatiently, another hour had passed and still nothing. She and Maxwell had continued sitting there waiting for news, looking from time to time towards the doors and hoping to see a doctor coming out while Nanny Fine had left the room for second time, heading to the nurse's station to ask if there was any news.

"They took him to surgery right after we got here, and about twenty minutes later you and Nanny Fine came here. It's been almost four hours…four painful long hours, how much longer?" C.C. asked before groaned in desperation, stood up and began pacing back and forth through the waiting room.

Maxwell didn't know how to answer that question. Maybe because he knew there was nothing he could do or say to make her feel better so he selected to remain silent, but deep down he was asking himself the same question.

Sliding back into her seat next to Maxwell, he offered her a plastic bottle of water that Fran had fetched from the vending machine at the end of the corridor a few minutes earlier, hoping it would calm her a little, but who was he kidding? Nothing could make the trick, not even a glass of scotch, nothing but knowing that Niles was going to live. Just then a surgeon entered the room.

C.C. was on her feet in a flash, before Maxwell could even move, looking at the doctor expectantly.

"Niles family?" the surgeon -that looked too young to be a doctor- asked gently, looking first at Maxwell and then at C.C., while removing his green scrub cap off his head with his right hand. When he got a confirming nod from Maxwell, continued "I am Dr. Taylor, one of the doctors that performed the surgery on Mr. Niles."

"How is he?" C.C. heard Maxwell to ask Dr Taylor, trying her best to say something herself, but failing. It was as if someone had sucked suddenly all the oxygen from her lungs making her voice to stuck midway in her throat.

"Well, he's out of surgery. The bullet was very close to his heart, less than four millimeter and he was bleeding a lot, consequently we lost him on the table several times, but eventually we were able to stop the bleeding and remove the bullet without any extensive damage to be done. "

C.C. and Maxwell felt an immense surge of relief wash over them and let out a deep breath, but it last only for a moment as the doctor continued, "However-"

"However? What the hell do you mean, however?"C.C. asked looking at him like a lioness, ready to rip his flesh off. Oh, she hated so much when doctors do that. "You stopped the bleeding and you got the bullet out, he's going to be all right, right? Right?"

"C.C., please let him talk," Maxwell scolded her, placing a hand on her shoulder and pushing her gently down onto her chair.

The doctor although didn't complain, clearly he was too used to this kind of behavior when it came to patients' families to be bothered by it.

"Doctor, what do you mean?" Maxwell asked in a gentle voice.

"Well, he isn't out of the woods yet, you see he lost a lot of blood, but I'm feeling pretty optimistic, he is a very strong man." Dr. Taylor explained.

"Where is he now?" Maxwell asked, while C.C. trying to process what she had just been heard. It could have been so much better however this was certainly good news.

"We just put him into recovery-" The doctor started to say but he was cut off once again by C.C. before he could finish.

"When can I see him…we, I mean?" C.C. asked although the tone in her voice made it clear there was only one acceptable answer.

"You can visit him now, but only one at a time. The risk of infection is still possible. He is also unconscious and he will probably stay that way for a few hours, but don't worry that's completely normal."The doctor informed them.

C.C. turned and looked at Maxwell nervously, like she wanted to ask him something, but she could not get up the nerve. Luckily for her Maxwell sensed what she wanted to ask and spoke up first, "It's okay, go, I'll wait here for Miss Fine."

"Thank you," C.C. mumbled.

"I'll send a nurse to take you there." The doctor said, before turned and walked away.

**~~o0o~~**

C.C. followed a young nurse down the hall where Nile's room was. With every step her legs trembled, threatening to give out on her.

The nurse motioned to room 202 and gave her a polite smile. "If you need anything, please press the call button" She said before left, allowing C.C. to visit him in private.

Once she reached the door she paused for a moment to catch her breath. She wasn't sure if she was ready to see him like that -lying, motionless against the white hospital sheets, hooked up to IVs and monitoring equipment- but she knew that she didn't have any other choice so she turned the knob and pushed the door open.

The room was quite dark, but she recognized him immediately. Cautiously she closed the door behind her and slipped quietly across the room to sit down in the chair beside his bed. Niles features looked completely relaxed and peaceful as he slept. C.C. knew that it was probably due to the heavy pain medication, but it was a relief for her to know that at least he wasn't feeling much pain.

"Hey, Butler boy," she whispered, reaching out to interlock her fingers with his curled ones hoping that somehow inside his mind he could feel her presence. "When you wake up I'll be right here. I promise." Her lips whispered against his ear.

_**To be continued…**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** _All rights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended._

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**What I Did For Love: Chapter thirteen**

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**~~o0o~~**

Seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours and soon the night dropped like black mantle over the town. Fran and Maxwell eventually went home, but despite their pleading to follow them C.C. refused to leave Niles' bedside. She thought if she left and -heaven forbid- something happened or if he opened his eyes and she wasn't there, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. She just continued sat in the uncomfortable chair beside his bed -occasionally shifting position- while holding his cool, unresponsive hand tightly. During this time C.C. had left his side only when the nurses and doctors needed access or her bladder was about to explode. She hadn't showered, she hadn't eaten, she hadn't slept and every single muscle in her body ached, begging her for rest. She was a complete wreck but she didn't care, she wanted to be as physically close to Niles as possible could be. She was telling herself that her butler boy was the only person in the world she could do this for and none other. For him she could sit still for minutes, hours, days or eternities without make a single complain if it was necessary. All that mattered to her was the constant beeping of his heart monitor and the rising and falling of his chest with every breath he took because it meant she hadn't lost him. He was still hanging in there and he was going to wake up soon.

**~~o0o~~**

The last thing Niles remembered before the shadowy abyss began to claim his body and soul was C.C.'s concerned face whispering in his ear. He was sad that things between them had to end like that. They had never gotten their chance and now he was dead and he wasn't coming back. Why couldn't they have opened up a little bit sooner…why? Stupid, stupid pride!

He strained to remember exactly how he had died, but his memories were tangled and he couldn't concentrate, however, somehow, somewhere in the distance he could hear a steady beeping sound. Maybe it was just his imagination. But then again how was this possible for a dead man? So... maybe, just maybe he was… alive? He was alive!

Slowly the darkness began to lift itself as the sound became louder and louder. Eventually the darkness faded into a dark shade of grey and then to an obnoxiously bright shade of white, so bright that he was instantly blinded by it. He had no idea what had happened, but his hand automatically reaching up to block out the light. This small act of nature made him realize two things; one, he was indeed alive and two, It was daytime considering the light was from the sun outside. With a valiant effort, he forced his eyes to open to mere slits and blinked until he could get used to the light shining through the blinds. "What happened to me? Wh-Where am I?" He whispered to himself in confusion, but a few confused moments later, he came to the conclusion that he was in a hospital room.

Suddenly a tiny movement to his left caught his attention and gently -not to cause himself unnecessary pain- tilted his head, to see what it was. A smile spread on his lips as his eyes landed on a familiar figure, C.C.'s figure. She was sleeping peacefully in an uncomfortable looking chair beside his bed. Her long legs were curled up underneath her awkwardly and her head was resting on the edge of his bed while she was holding his hand in hers like he was going to disappear if she let go.

Her hair was messy, sticking out in different directions like she'd been running her hands through it constantly for hours. Cautiously he extricated his hand from hers and tenderly smoothed back a few strands of blond hair that had fallen over her without a single trace of makeup, but still very beautiful face, hiding it from his view. Clearly she had spent the whole night in that chair, holding his hand until exhaustion overtook her. The position she was sleeping in was very awkward and he felt bad for being the cause of it, but at the same time he was glad she was there. She was like a ray of sunshine in the middle of his darkness.

He couldn't help the small smile or better the slight grimace that formed on his face as C.C.'s blue eyes slowly opened, blinked and then widened in surprise as she realized he was awake. "Oh my God, you're awake!" She exclaimed, a hand flying up to cover her mouth before she reached for his hand again, clutching it tightly between her own.

"Niles, I'm so glad you're awake. How are you feeling?" C.C. asked in a sweet, compassionate tone. Finally things were going right with the world…hopefully they will stay that way, she thought.

Niles drew in a long deep breath, closed his eyes and exhaled slowly through his nose. "Sore…exhausted…" He croaked out, his voice was hoarse and his mouth felt like cotton from lack of liquids.

C.C. nodded in understanding as her fingertips traced circles on the back of his hand, soothing him. "Well its normal...the bullet missed your heart by a few millimeters."

"Bullet? What bullet? What...happened?" He asked almost breathlessly, it was like he had a heavy weigh on his chest holding him down while making him struggling to get the words out. Pressing his hands down, either side of his bed, he tried to push himself up, however halfway through the action a sharp pain stabbed through his chest and he fell back onto the bed in agony, using every restraint left in his weak body to not cry out in pain. Then he squeezed his blue eyes shut, waiting for it to pass. That was when everything that had happened came flooding back to him. His eyes snapped open and his breathing quickened more than he thought he could handle.

"You okay?" C.C. asked visibly panicked as her mind worked double-time thinking a million different thoughts at the same time. "Maybe I should get a nurse or better a doctor." She mumbled quickly in panic before pushed her body out of her seat, fully intending on finding someone to help Niles.

Niles shook his head slightly. "I'm fine. Please sit down." He pleaded her as his breathing slowly became less strained and the wrinkles on his face softened.

Babcock studied his face carefully and when she made sure that he was better she murmured "Okay," then eased herself back down on the chair.

"I just remembered …the kidnapper, the bullet, the blood…everything," he paused to rub his forehead, "and that weird feeling…" he trailed off, looking sad, but almost instantly felt C.C.'s hand squeezing his a little bit tighter, "what feeling?" She asked in concern.

The Butler swallowed and bowed slightly forward, "the feeling that I was… dead."

"Miss Babcock, what's wrong?" Niles asked when she tore her eyes from his gaze and dropped them to the floor, looking at nothing in particular. For a moment she opened her mouth and made a few motions as if to answer but she closed it again. When she finally lifted her gaze to his face, her expression was clouded and her blue eyes were darkened like the sea before a storm and Niles wished he'd never asked the question.

She took a deep breath and willed herself to speak, there was no point avoiding it any longer anyways."You were," she simply answered while fighting with every fiber of her being not to fall apart as painful memories flashed in her mind.

Niles forehead crinkled into a frown. "What?"

"You were dead for almost three minutes, before the paramedics bring you back to life and I …" she took a deep breath, "I've never been so scared before in my life. You stopped breathing and I thought I was going to lose forever. I didn't know what I would've done if you had..." C.C. didn't finish her sentence just stopped and looked down at her hands that were clasped together in her lap. She just couldn't say the word; it was as if she was scared that it could make all come true somehow.

"Well, it turns out that you can't get rid of me that easily, Brunette." Niles said with a ghost of a smile on his face but it faded away when he saw her desperately serious expression.

"Don't turn this into a joke, Bell boy, this is serious…you could have died!" C.C. yelled emphasizing the last word, while getting more frustrated by the moment.

"Yes, but I didn't." Niles replied in the same tone C.C. had used, emphasizing the last word as well or at least he tried to.

"You should have left when that man told you to," She cut him off sharply.

A look of sheer disbelief crossed Niles' features. "So do you!"

She narrowed her eyes slightly but continued to yell at him ignoring his last statement. "What the hell did you think you were doing by staying there?"

"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry that I stayed?" Niles asked. His voice was as raised as his dry mouth allowed it, but the irritation was evident in his tone.

"Yes!" C.C. shouted staring at him hard and intently.

"Well I can't…because I'm not!" Niles responded in stern, sure, take-no-prisoners kind of voice leaving no place for doubts, after all it was the truth, everything he did he had done it in all conscience and he didn't regret it at all. "I did what I thought was best at the time and I'm not going to regret it, nor now, nor ever."

"Best?" She said, chuckling. "For who, the kidnapper? Because for you defiantly…" C.C. couldn't finish her sentence because Niles cut her off.

The things his pride had forbidden him from saying for so long came pouring out, "Best for the woman I love…best for you. I tried to tell you and back then, but you didn't let me finish. I love you C.C. I've loved you from the first time I saw you but I never found the courage to tell you how I feel and when you were taken I was so scared I would never see you again that I did what I thought was best…maybe it was wrong, maybe not, I don't know, I don't care. All I know is that I did it from love…for love…you…please believe me."

"You should have left," she said with a serious tone then paused for a moment as she placed a piece of her short, blonde hair behind her ear before she continued, "but I believe you, I believe your intentions and I know how you feel because… I feel the same way about you…"

Niles looked at her, too stunned to speak, but found back his words when something like a small bell, rang inside his mind. "What did you say?"

"I said that I believe you…" She began to say once more but he cut her off impatiently.

"NO! What did you say AFTER that? You said that you feel the same way about…ME?"

C.C. nodded gently her head. "Yes!"

"I knew it!" He exclaimed feeling deep joy and peace settling inside him. "I knew it that it couldn't have been creation of my imagination or some kind of dream, it was too real."

"What was too real?" C.C. asked him tilting her head a little to the side.

"The last thing I remember before everything went black was you hugging me and whispering in my ear… and I heard you…I heard what you said." Niles explained to her smiling, his eyes never leaving hers, searching for her reaction.

C.C. knew exactly what he meant, but didn't say anything. A small smile that matched his own graced her lips before they captured his in a deep kiss. After all sometimes, actions speak much louder than words…now they both knew it…

_**~THE END~**_

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**A/N: **_Okay guys, there you have it:) I hope you all liked it! I'd like to say a huge thanks to all of the readers that reviewed, added this story to their favorites and subscribed to the story alert!:) Cheers guys! Till next time._


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